BLE 5.0 security - bluetooth

I was wondering if there is any material improvement/difference in BLE security controls/requirements in BLE 5.0 spec as compared to BLE 4.2 spec. Could you advise? I skimmed through the BLE bits in the huge Bluetooth 5.0 core spec but that didn't help.
I am aware that there are significant security improvements in BLE 4.2 vs its predecessors BLE 4.0/4.1.
Any pointers will be much appreciated.
Thanks
Rick

By comparing the Security Manager chapter (which defines the BLE pairing/bonding) in the Core specification of version 4.2 and 5, there are basically no changes at all except editorial ones.
The only feature difference is one in the algorithm to convert an LE LTK to/from a BR/EDR Link Key. The change here is one intermediate step that takes the key as input and generates an intermediate key using AES-CMAC with a fixed salt. Previously the LTK/Link Key was the key and the salt was the message (to AES-CMAC) while now the salt is the key and the LTK/Link Key is the message. This change is probably to make sure the stored key is not used for different purposes, which otherwise could be a security issue.

Related

Difference between two revision of bluetooth profile

I want to know the exact difference between bluetooth profile HFP_1.6 and HFP_1.7 revision.From where I will get these difference.
Is there any section in the document of HFP specs.
Thanks,
Due to the new adapted Bluetooth spec template, you may can not find the different between v1.7.1(the latest) and the v1.6.
However, you can find the main feature difference for the Table 3.1 -Application layer procedures. this table described the main features for each HFP version, e.g. you can find v1.6 added WBS(and codec negotiation) and Individual Indicator Activation features, and v1.7 added "HF Indicators" than v1.6. That's the main difference.

Modifying Bluetooth Low Energy Beacon

I was wondering if it is possible to modify the contents of a BLE beacon to include extra information. If you insert an extra bit at the end you could potentially broadcast a boolean in one direction. Theoretically, if you modified your device to read the extra bit of information this would work. Given existing protocols though it sounds like this would be a lot of work. Is there something out there like this already?
For info, I'm working on the mbed platform where you can modify your own bluetooth beacon payload.
Yes, you can do this with the new AltBeacon specification. There is a one byte manufacturer reserved field which you can use for whatever you want (tied to your manufacturer ID).
There are reference implementations of the specification available for Linux to show you how it works, and there is no reason you cannot implement it on the mbed platform.

Sending iBeacon signal strength(for distance) to arduino board

I have a project using quadcopter(ARDrone).
And i want to controlled it unmanned indoor, using arduino board and iBeacons.
iBeacons send signal strength and floor info to arduino board(inside ARDrone connected main board) and iphone for searching location in building. Project is just controlling drone to go to iphone's location by itself. All calculation parts are managed in server.(triangulation etc.)
Here are the questions.
How can arduino board receive bluetooth 4.0 signal and send it to
server? 4.0 signal can be received by bluetooth 2.0 module?
Do i need to build bluetooth 4.0 receiver module? Or are there any other ways?
In server, complicated calculation will be managed by programs in c++ language but simple things are handled by web language. php? jsp? or other lang which one is better?
and some hints for this project.
I really need your help. thanks;)
3. The calculations to identify the location from the received signal strength and location of the Beacons are fairly straightforward, so should be fine in which ever language you prefer. You will need to use Trilateration, once you have converted RSSI (received signal strength) into a distance.
4. The major challenge you will have is getting accurate distances, iBeacons as you know use Bluetooth LE, what you may not know is that this operates on a Microwave wavelength and so is easily disrupted by humidity in the air, as well as other objects like people. This means that the RSSI readings will jump about a bit, a basic way to overcome this is to take an average over several readings, even so the distances found will be rather inaccurate in many circumstances. To get an idea of the kind of readings that you will get for distance without compensating for environmental factors have a look at my presentation: "Factors effecting positional accuracy of iBeacons", that is based on Estimote iBeacons, but should be relevant for other brands as well, but you will need to do your own experiments to work out the relative errors. I was seeing distance readings that were +-2M away from the real location.
My name is Wojtek Borowicz, I'm a community evangelist at Estimote.
To add to what Chris Thomson (BTW, cool slide deck!) - your first two question can basically be reduced to a single answer: you need your receiver to support Bluetooth Smart on both the hardware and software side. So yes, you need a Bluetooth 4.0 module to receive Bluetooth 4.0 signal and you also need a Bluetooth 4.0 stack for your receiver to be able to 'interpret' that signal.

can bluetooth low energy be used like nfc - say printed to an ID badge?

I'm using my iPhone to scan in a complex 2D barcode. Problem is, the iPhone camera doesn't do so well at very close distances (less than 3 inches).
I was wondering if there were a way I could affix a Bluetooth low energy "sticker" to a piece of paper. The idea being instead of using the camera to scan a 2D barcode, I could just put my iPhone near the paper and "scan" it.
I'm extremely new to Bluetooth tech, so it's quite possible that what I'm asking for is completely ridiculous. Please forgive me, if that is the case.
Unlike NFC, Bluetooth Low-Energy devices need a power source, so it's imposible to just "print" them. They need a BLE chip and a battery to operate. So while you could use BLE same way you use NFC (proximity-based actions), you won't be able to do it with just a sticker.
Register at bluetooth sig for manufactorer id. Then put manufacturer id in advertisement package 0xff with id (16 bit) followed by the data. You must be sure your length is correct or iOS can't decode it.
For NFC, your scanner must be pretty close to the tag. But BLE devices work within several tens of meters without any problem. This is like an active RFID chip.
Of course, you need a power source for it. But if you print this BLE tag to a piece of expensive equipment, the cost of the tag and the battery is not a problem. You can use a button cell battery to power the BLE tag up. Let is broadcast/advertise some info once a second. Of course, you have to add some security mechanism if you want to be away from any replay attacks.

RFID reader standards

I have an RFID reader which is ISO 14443A compliant. It is capable of reading Mifare 1k (s50), Mifare 4k (s70), and Mifare Mini (s20) cards. I want to know if the same RFID reader can read the cards which are ISO 15693 compliant. I am new with RFID and I dont know anything about the ISO standards.
Compliancy to ISO14443 does not imply compliancy to ISO15693. However, some reader chips can do both. If you can tell the model name of your reader, or the reader chip inside, it may be possible to tell whether it supports ISO15693.
Check with your reader manufacturer to see if it supports both protocols. Many do; but, you should double check to be sure.
Even if it does support both, it will likely NOT be able to do so simultaneously. Likely, you will have to toggle between the two protocols in order work with both types of RFID tags.
ISO14443 A/B and ISO15693 standard operate on the same frequency 13.56 MHz, and both have about the same read range when reading tags 5 - 20 cm, but from then on the similarities end.
They have different ways to access RFID tags and perform inventory, data read/write and different memory organization.
Because of the similarities some manufacturers provide readers that can handle both types of tags, but the procedure is different due to the different standards (so a software designed to read ISO14443 will not read ISO15693 and vice-versa).
As previous answers you will need to check with your manufacturer to be sure, but if you need a recommendation of reader with which I have worked you can try the IDTronic Desktop EVO HF or IDTronic Desktop EVO LEGIC. From my knowledge it's under 100 $.
Datasheet here:
Desktop EVO Reader Datasheet
the RFID reader ISO 14443A can not read the cards which are ISO 15693.
they are totally two different kind standard.
for rfid reader, i think you could first learn from this rfid news here http://syncotek.com/news/

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