investigator at George Mason University havediscovereda way to traverse just about any Bluetooth machine using Apple ’s Find My internet . The hack , dub nRootTag , can be used by hackers to make any Bluetooth gadget into “ unwitting home beacon . ”
The researchers figured out a fashion around how an Apple AirTag exchange its Bluetooth address using a cryptologic paint , which protects the AirTag from being hacked . The investigator developed key search method to create a compatible Bluetooth address that the key adapts to , get around the secure samara .
Updated March 1 : accord to Apple , the breakthrough by George Mason University demonstrate how an Android , Windows , or Linux machine can be hack , and then Find My can be used for trailing . This is not a vulnerability in Apple ’s AirTag , Find My , or other Apple product . An update to Find My was issue on December 11 , 2024 to protect against misuse and acknowledge George Mason University in the release note .
The researchers claim 90 percent succeeder with their nRootTag hack , which can be performed remotely without administrator access to a gimmick . It also does n’t matter what platform the twist is on ; devices run Android , Windows , and Linux have been hacked , as well as smart TVs and VR headsets .
The hack , however , require intense processing power to create a compatible nRootTag quickly . The researchers used “ hundreds of graphic processing unit ( GPUs ) ” by using GPU letting services , which are usually used by AI developers and Bitcoin miners . To help cut down on processing , hackers can save the leaning of fail nRootTags for reference .
The taxicab was reported to Apple in June 2024 and a fixed was released on December 11 , 2024 . Apple formally acknowledged the exposure , fit in to George Mason University ’s paper .
How to protect yourself
Because of the huge amount of processing power to accomplish the nRootTag hack successfully , it ’s unlikely that a exploiter will see this attack in the natural state . Users can take precautions by being aware of Bluetooth notifications by apps asking for unfounded and unexpected permit to connect . Users can check what Bluetooth devices are connected to the iPhone , iPad , and Mac in the Bluetooth System preferences .
Apple release security piece through oxygen updates , so install them as shortly as possible is authoritative . It ’s also significant to update the apps on your Mac , which you could do through the App Store or an app ’s scene . Macworld has several guides to help , including a usher onwhether or not you need antivirus package , alist of Mac computer virus , malware , and Dardanian , and acomparison of Mac security software .
