Bluetooth Threat Taxonomy

Since its release in 1999, Bluetooth has become a commonly used technology available on billions of devices through the world. Bluetooth is a wireless technology used for information transfer by devices such as Smartphones, headsets, keyboard/mice, laptops/desktops, video game systems, automobiles, printers, heart monitors, and surveillance cameras. Dozens of threats have been developed by researchers and hackers which targets these Bluetooth enabled devices. The work in this thesis provides insight into past and current Bluetooth threats along with methods of threat mitigation.

The main focus of this thesis is the Bluetooth Threat Taxonomy (BTT); it is designed for classifying threats against Bluetooth enabled technology. The BTT incorporates nine distinct classifications to categorize Bluetooth attack tools and methods and a discussion on 42 threats. In addition, several new threats developed by the author will be discussed.

This research also provides means to secure Bluetooth enabled devices. The Bluetooth Attack Detection Engine (BLADE) is as a host-based Intrusion Detection System (IDS) presented to detect threats targeted toward a host system. Finally, a threat mitigation schema is provided to act as a guideline for securing Bluetooth enabled devices.