Bluetooth tracker hidden in a postcard and mailed to a warship exposed its location — $5 gadget put a $585 million Dutch ship at risk for 24 hours
https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/cyber-security/bluetooth-tracker-hidden-in-a-postcard-and-mailed-to-a-warship-exposed-its-location-a-eur5-gadget-put-a-eur500-million-dutch-ship-at-risk-for-24-hours
129 points · 13 comments · view on lemmy.world
13 Comments
RedWeasel@lemmy.world · 31 pts · 148d
That is so disturbing and amazing at the same time. Does the US Navy screen their mail for trackers? Other countries. What about the sailors as they board? There was the story about the starlink router on a ship last year I think. So ....
sleepmode@lemmy.world · 31 pts · 148d
Recently a Navy carrier’s location was revealed by someone doing laps on their running app.
reddig33@lemmy.world · 31 pts · 148d
sleepmode@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 148d
Good ol’ Strava and SHODAN constantly revealing how dogshit the US’ Op-sec is.
onlinepersona@programming.dev · 16 pts · 148d
Soldiers locations have been exposed om the battlefield by dating apps. Yeah, the army doesn't screen shit.
paraphrand@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 148d
That’s a classic one. I’m surprised it’s still happening.
errer@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 148d
How the fuck does this Bluetooth device transmit its location over miles through a fucking steel aircraft carrier and my headphones disconnect from my phone 3 feet away all the time?
logi@piefed.world · 15 pts · 148d
Both Apple and Google run these tracking networks where a nearby phone can relay the tags location back to the network,l.
InFerNo@lemmy.ml · 3 pts · 148d
So this vessel has some local wifi with internet access private phones can connect to?
artyom@piefed.social · 3 pts · 147d
Presumably they have internet on these ships, yes.
LordMayor@piefed.social · 1 pts · 144d
But, why would they track some random $10 Amazon tag?
logi@piefed.world · 2 pts · 143d
Because randos on amazon can be compatible with those networks. I've got a bunch of Pebblebee tags that are compatible with both.
Tikiporch@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 148d
Airtag or adjacent thing, I guess?
LordMayor@piefed.social · 2 pts · 144d
Yeah, there’s a big piece of this puzzle missing.
If it was an Apple or Google tag it would make sense. They have systems for tracking those but I imagine they must have some kind of limits.
Anyway, this a $10 random tag from Amazon. Why would any phone report its location? I imagine it has to either be: officially recognized by Apple or Google; spoofing Apple or Google ids; or being picked up by some third-party app.
No article I’ve see has explained how it was tracked.