Can Someone Hack My Android’s Bluetooth?

These days, almost all phones have a Bluetooth connection available. What you might not know is that this connection could be exposing your phone to hacking attempts. If you think your phone has been hacked, be sure to use the Security Scan feature to see if there have been any security breaches:

Bluetooth hacking occurs when a hacker is able to connect to your phone using its Bluetooth connection. This hack can only occur if the hacker is within a potential hacked phone’s Bluetooth range, which is roughly 30 feet. Once the hacker is connected, however, it opens up a hacked phone to all sorts of security vulnerabilities.

There are 3 major types of Bluetooth hacking: bluejacking, bluesnarfing, and bluebugging. Bluejacking allows a hacked phone to send anonymous messages to other phones in the vicinity. Bluesnarfing is the practice of taking information like calendars, call lists, emails, and text messages, as well as pictures and private videos away from your phone and transferring them to the hacker. Bluebugging allows the hacker to take complete control of the phone, giving them the ability to listen in on taking and receiving calls from a hacked phone as well as complete access to a hacked phones call records.

So what can you do to make sure your phone does not get hacked? Here are a couple solutions:

• Turn off your phone’s Bluetooth when you aren’t using it. Keeping your Bluetooth on for unnecessary amounts of time just exposes you to the threat of being Bluetooth hacked.
• Don’t accept any Bluetooth requests unless you know where they are coming from.
• The older your phone is, the more susceptible it is to Bluetooth hacking, so if you are able, try to buy the most recent model of the phone of your choice.
• Keeping your phone firmware updated as well is a good way to prevent against Bluetooth hacking.

Be constantly aware of your phone’s functions and how they can be used to exploit a vulnerability. Doing so can try to put you one step ahead of hackers.