Bluetooth
... 2.45 GHz range. This frequency was set for industrial, scientific, and medical devices by an international agreement (ISM). Bluetooth frequency is currently used in baby monitors and some cordless phones. Preventing Bluetooth devices from interfering with devices already using the frequency range was the biggest challenge in the design. Ericsson, a company that started in Sweden in 1876, originally developed Bluetooth. Ericsson is the largest company involved in the manufacturing of mobile systems such as cell phones, portable computers, etc. The Bluetooth communication technology is based on a protocol platform, meaning it is like a computer language that allows devices to talk to each other. The method used to avoid interference is by transmitting weak signals, at about 1 milliwatt, which gives it a range of roughly 10 meters. It can still go through walls, but the limited range makes the communication relatively trouble-free. Another aspect of the Bluetooth technology is that the Bluetooth transmitters use spread-spectrum frequency hopping, meaning the transmitters change frequency within their segment (79 individual randomly chosen frequencies) 1,600 times per second, which virtually eliminates interference with other devices in the same frequency range (baby monitors and cordless phones). This also allows all the Bluetooth devices to communicate at the same time, since the chance of the devices picking the same frequency is highly unlikely. Standards and Regulation Bluetooth is currently a de facto standard and a specification that the IEEE 802.15 working group for personal area networks (PAN) has announced that they will be adopting as the IEEE 802.15 standard. The specification is free and no license is required to use Bluetooth. It is supported by a special interest group (SIG) formed in May of 1998 by Ericsson, Nokia, Intel, IBM, and Toshiba, it currently consists of nearly 1400 companies who are pledged to conform with an adopter’s agreement covering brand use and intellectual property rights. Bluetooth enabled products must pass Bluetooth Qualification Test Facility (BQTF) technical specification compliance tests prior to being released for sale using the Bluetooth brand. Once qualified, a Bluetooth enabled product is added to the official qualified product list and can be marketed with the Bluetooth logo. Under this program, all Bluetooth devices should then be compatible. Bluetooth Security Bluetooth security uses a combination of a Personal Identification Number (PIN) and a Bluetooth address to identify another Bluetooth device. This, in combination with multiple layers of data encryption, as well as the fast frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) technique, provides security for Bluetooth devices. The data encryption consists of a private authentication key, a private encryption key, and a random or pseudo random 128 bit internally generated number. FHSS prevents non-synchronized devices from communicating while also decreasing the likelihood of RF interference (as previously noted). Bluetooth uses profiles to set up access for various devices and scenarios. In the General Access Profile there are three security modes, non-secure (Mode 1), service level enforced security (Mode 2), and link level enforced security (Mode 3). In Mode 2 the Bluetooth device initiates security procedures after a channel is established. In Mode 3, before the channel is established. In addition, there are trusted and un-trusted device levels, three service levels, including open services, authentication required services, and services requiring both authorization and authentication. Security Concerns There are still a number of security concerns with the Bluetooth specification. A few of the less technical concerns are listed in the following excerpt. “Authentication and encryption are based on the assumption that the link key is the participants' shared secret. All other information used in the procedures is public. Now, suppose that devices A and B use A's unit key as their link key. At the same time (or later on), device C may communicate with device A and use A's unit key as the link key. This means that device B, having obtained A's unit key earlier, can use the unit key with a faked device address to calculate the encryption key and therefore listen to the traffic. It can also authenticate itself to device A as device C and to device C as device A. The Bluetooth Device Address, which is unique to each and every Bluetooth device, introduces another problem. When a connection is made that a certain Bluetooth device belongs to a certain person, it is easy to track and monitor the behavior of this person. Logs can be made on all Bluetooth transactions and privacy is violated. Profiling and other questionable ways of categorizing can take place. Yet another problem with Bluetooth is the battery draining denial of service scheme, against which it has no protection. If this is going to be a big problem, I suspect some countermeasures will be taken by the Bluetooth SIG” (Vainio 2005). Companies Involved in Bluetooth The companies involved in the application of the Bluetooth technology are: • 3Com. – This product diverse company once made a Bluetooth USB adapter for computers without Bluetooth transmitters. • Ericsson. – This company invented Bluetooth. It includes it in its cell phones for wireless headsets and other cell phone devices. • Nokia. – This cell phone company includes Bluetooth capability for their phones and related devices such as built-in FM radio, wireless MP3 players, and even on-line games (N-Gage). • Intel. – This company once devised a credit card Bluetooth adaptor • IBM. – This company implements Bluetooth into its desktops and laptops for easier wireless connection for previously wired devices such as a mouse, cameras, palm pilots, and even Pocket PCs. • Lucent. – This software company includes Bluetooth in its software, so it is more dynamic in regards to data input. • Microsoft. – Besides software, this company also makes peripherals like keyboards, mice, and multimedia devices such as microphones, joysticks, and headphones. It includes built-in Bluetooth technology to blend in with windows. It now has a keyboard that connects the mouse to the computer wirelessly, plus you can still connect 6 additional devices to the Bluetooth transceiver from the keyboard. • Motorola. – Yet, another communication company (cell phones, walkie-talkies, and radios) Now, Motorola manufactures cell phone devices like wireless headsets for their cell phones. • Toshiba. – This Japanese computer company uses Bluetooth for breakthroughs in technology, like the latest Toshiba SD Bluetooth in Japan for Palm, which it released first in Japan for its own Toshiba portable device. Global Implications Bluetooth technology is rapidly expanding. With this new technology, various markets could benefit. Markets such as health care, automotive telematics, industrial, and warehousing, just to name a few (Baskerville). Bluetooth is moving the health care field by incorporating their technology in devices such as heart-rate monitors, glucometers, hearing aid programmers, sleep monitors, and handheld patient records. One of the most cost effective devices is the handheld device that allows for access and input of patient data to remote databases (Roberts). The Mainz University Hospital in Germany has been conducting a trial run of this technology with about twenty clinicians. The monetary results from this study have shown that Doctors at the hospital are saving about an hour a day of input by using this wireless handhelds. The documentation of patient records is essential in health care. German regulations dictate that all patient diagnoses and surgical procedures be documented in the World Heath Organization codes, which are housed in the main hospital database (Roberts). By using the wireless handhelds, doctors do not have to be tied to a computer to access the codes. It is estimated that the hospital is saving $5,523 per doctor in the keeping of patient records (Roberts). A study is being done using Bluetooth enabled instruments to program hearing aids. Current programmin...