Yesterday we talked about BlueBorne, a dangerous attack vector that affects more than five billion devices with Bluetooth connectivity. Major manufacturers are already working to reduce its impact, but the truth is that most hardware will not receive the necessary updates. If you have an Android smartphone or tablet and want to check its status regarding BlueBorne, the folks at Armis launched a small app called BlueBorne Vulnerability Scanner, which also evaluates nearby devices.
Nobody wants to see one of the most used wireless standards in the world at risk, but that's exactly what BlueBorne has caused. It is assumed that all “modern” devices will receive an update to block this attack, but the problem is that those devices represent a very small fraction of the market. If we think about every generic tablet, old smartphone, stereo, wireless speaker, TV and general appliance, it's not hard to imagine the more than five billion gadgets that Armis considers “at risk”.
The first step is to inform the user, and that's where the new BlueBorne Vulnerability Scanner for Android comes in. Its main goal is to verify the status of the hardware running it. If it is vulnerable to BlueBorne, it will show a message, and then offer the possibility to check nearby devices. This requires granting the app permission to enable Bluetooth temporarily. Once it finishes its scan, BlueBorne Vulnerability Scanner shows a kind of map with everything it detected in the vicinity of the smartphone, the MAC address of each entry, and the risk it is in.
BlueBorne Vulnerability Scanner works with Android 4.1 and above, and doesn't take up much space. Now, it is necessary to emphasize that the app only informs if the device can be affected by BlueBorne. It's not an antivirus scanner or anything like that. Once again, the first line of defense on unsupported smartphones and tablets is to disable Bluetooth, and keep a close eye on any app that requests permission to use it.
