Users need refresher on Bluetooth security

With Bluetooth now a common feature on nearly all new mobile devices, there needs to be greater awareness from users about security problems and vulnerabilities associated with the function, according to industry figures.

A study by research firm InsightExpress revealed that 73 percent of mobile device users are not acquainted with security issues that could put their mobile devices at risk, including mobile phones and Bluetooth-equipped notebooks. To these users, terms such as "bluejacking", "bluesnarfing" or even "bluebugging" would probably be unfamiliar.

"There are many other methods that [launch] a variety of denial-of-service attacks, and even some that could allow an attack to eavesdrop on private conversations," Ooi Szu-Khiam, senior security consultant at Symantec Singapore, said in an e-mail interview. Ooi noted that "numerous instances of mobile viruses, worms and Trojan horses" have emerged in the past year.

"While none has done damage like some of the major PC malware, their rapid evolution presents an obvious cause for concern," Ooi cautioned.