Bluetooth Technology - Essay Example

BluTth Tchnlgy Tbl f Cntnts: Intrductin rigins f Blutth tchnlgy nd th wy it wrks 2. pplictin nd uss f th tchnlgy in Businss 3. Futur trnds in Blutth tchnlgy Conclusion Intrductin n f th mst striking chngs in th us f tchnlgy in th lst yr r s hs bn th xplsiv grwth in th us f wirlss ntwrks fr Intrnt nd lcl ntwrk ccss. In this ppr I will b lking t n f wirlss tchnlgis tht wnt bynd cll phns nd hm ntwrks winning th ttntin f incrsing custmrs, th Blutth tchnlgy. Currnt ppr cvrs fw imprtnt trnds in th dvlpmnt nd rigins f th Blutth tchnlgy. Th mjr prt f th ppr spks f th pplictin f th nw tchnlgy in cmpnis' prtinl ctivity. It is dscribd hw th businss prfits frm this kind f tchnlgy nd which lding cmpnis hv bn using it in rdr t gt high rts f performance. Th ppr also intrducs th Bluetooth tchnlgy, discussd its fturs nd prticulr implictins f usage. Th finl prt f th ppr criticlly discusss nd vluts th futur rnds f Blutth tchnlgy nd utlins th shrtcmings f th currnt dvlpmntl stg f th tchnlgy. rigins f Blutth tchnlgy Blutth, whs nm is tkn frm tnth cntury Dnish king, is trd nm tht rfrs t shrt-rng wirlss spcifictin fr lw-pwr rdi chip crtd in th lt 1990s. Dvics tht r Blutth -nbld--ths includ cmputrs nd lptps, mbil phns, printrs, nd PDs--cn cmmunict with ch thr vr shrt distncs in wht's knwn s prsnl-r ntwrk (PN) (Miller, Bisdikian, 2002). n sscitin f prfssinls clld th Blutth Spcil Intrst Grup (SIG), fundd in 1998, wns th Blutth trdmrk nd licnss th us f th trdmrk nd stndrds. Mmbr cmpnis writ th spcifictins, nd th SIG publishs thm nd runs qulifictin prgrms in which mnufcturrs tst thir dvics, xplins Michl Fly, xcutiv nd tchnicl dirctr f th SIG. ny vndr tht wnts t us th Blutth tchnlgy in prduct must b mmbr f th SIG. Th mr thn 3,000 mmbr cmpnis f th Blutth SIG includ wll-knwn gints frm th tlcmmunictins, cmputing, utmtiv, industril utmtin, nd ntwrk sctrs, such s ricssn, IBM, nd Intl, s wll s mny smll tch cmpnis. Thr r thr clsss f Blutth dvics. ch clss hs diffrnt rng. Clss 1 dvics hv rng f but 100 mtrs; Clss 2 xtnds t but 20 mtrs; nd Clss 3 rchs t but 10 mtrs. Th spcifictins r chnging cntinully. Fr xmpl, n rltivly nw spcifictin dscribs hw t strm str udi vr Blutth link. This typ f "prfil spcifictin" dfins hw diffrnt dvics intrprt nd llws fr nw typs f prducts such s str hdsts fr prtbl CD r MP3 plyrs. Blutth ws dvlpd t rliz wirlss cnnctin btwn vrius typs f quipmnt (mstly, smll-siz ns). T crt PN, usrs nd t "pir" th uthrizd Blutth -nbld dvics tht will cnstitut th ntwrk, which typiclly tks nly fw kystrks. n uthntictin pssky is shrd during th piring prcss, which typiclly rquirs usr t ntr psswrd. Mny dvics tht dn't hv usr intrfcs ( hdst, fr xmpl) hv sttic psswrd tht cnnt b chngd. Dvics tht hv bn pird rmin pird, vn if n is turnd ff r tkn ut f rng; thy dn't nd t b pird gin ch tim thy'r usd, nd psswrds dn't nd t b rptdly ntrd. s mny s ight dvics cn b cnnctd in PN. Dt snt within th PN is ncryptd with 128-bit ncryptin. Dvics cn b lft in discvrbl md, mning tht thy cn b sn by thr Blutth dvics. Fr xmpl, in n ffic Blutth printr might rmin discvrbl s tht ll mplys in shrd r cn snd print jb wirlssly. Thy cn ls b lft in nn-discvrbl md, mning tht thy d nt rspnd t quris frm thr dvics nd r invisibl t th typicl Blutth dvic. Th discvrbility functin is ftn turnd n by dfult t mk it sir fr usrs t st up PNs nd fr Blutth cll phns t b bl t lct nrby Blutth usrs. Th nw systm cmpriss Blutth -nbld scnnr wrn by ldrs lik ring, nd trminl tht is wrn n th wist. Th tw r nt cnnctd by ny wirs tht culd b snggd n bxs r clthing. Instd, whn th ring scnnr rds br cd, tht infrmtin is trnsmittd wirlssly using th Blutth prtcl t th trminl. Frm thr, it is trnsmittd vi mr trditinl wirlss prtcl knwn s 802.11b (th sm tchnlgy usd by wirlss ccss pints in hms nd ffics) t th wird-sid infrstructur. Tht dt is thn inputtd int th dt-bs s tht trcking infrmtin cn b updtd t lmst th mmnt ldr tuchs pckg. Dspit th lck f wirs, th dvics hv t b strng t ndur th hrsh trtmnt thy rciv frm ldrs. Slzmn sys tht in dditin t bing vry lightwight, th ring nd trminl r md f vry strng nd durbl mgnsium lly. "Thy cn withstnd trmndus prssur nd nt brk," h sys. Frd Hit, wh mngs th wirlss ccss ntwrk r f UPS, sys tht his cmpny ls cnsidrd scurity t vry stg whn rlling ut th nw Blutth scnnrs. His first lin f dfns is simply t tk dvntg f Blutth's shrt rng s wy f kping ths utsid th fcility frm vn nticing tht th dvics r in us. Hit ls cnfigurd th scnnrs s tht thy r nt discvrbl, mking thm much mr difficult fr ttckrs t s. This, ccrding t scurity cnsultnt Tim Hurmn, is gd strt. "It's n f th bst dfnss yu cn d t Blutth dvic," h sys. "Whil ths dvics r hiddn, thy'r lt hrdr t find." Nithr dfns is impntrbl; strng ntnns nd spcilizd sftwr prducts cn dft bth rng nd discvrbility issus. But th wy th cmpny uss Blutth, it is nt xpsing highly prpritry infrmtin t thft, sys J Lwlss, dirctr f glbl dt ntwrks t UPS. In wrst-cs scnri, if Blutth trnsmissin wr intrcptd, h nts, thr wuld b n snsitiv infrmtin frm pckg snt btwn th scnnr nd rcivr. N crdit crd numbrs r psswrds r trnsmittd, h sys--nly brcd infrmtin frm th pckgs. S, n ttckr wuld b lft with nthing f vlu. pplictin nd uss f th tchnlgy in Businss nly n wirlss tchnlgy prvids businsss nd thir mplys th pwr f Prsnl r Ntwrk - Blutth wirlss tchnlgy. By intgrting Blutth wirlss tchnlgy int yur businss prtins, yu immditly imprv cmmunictin chnnls, incrs prductivity, mk it sir fr dt shring nd synchrniztin, gin instnt ccss t ky infrmtin nd crt th frdm t wrk whn nd whrvr businss nds t gt dn. Fdx nd Blutth wirlss tchnlgy Fdx, wll knwn s fficincy xprts, furthr strmlind thir pckging dlivry nd lgistics prtins in 2003 by quipping Fdx dlivry drivrs with Blutth nbld hndhld cmputrs, printrs nd br cd scnnrs. Wirlssly nbling th Fdx dlivry mn is n xrcis in fficincy, prductivity nd cst rductin. Fr Fdx, Blutth wirlss tchnlgy ws n bvius chic. Cc Cl nd Blutth wirlss tchnlgy In ustrli, Cc Cl bttling cmpny quippd fild sls nd mrkting stff with Blutth nbld IBM ThinkPds nd ccmpnying Blutth nbld phns. This prduct cmbintin llwd mplys t b cnnctd t Intrnt, cmpny ntwrk, -mil nd clint infrmtin nywhr, nytim. Th ThinkPd, cnncting vi Blutth wirlss tchnlgy t th mbil phn's GPRS dt ntwrk llwd fr th full functin f lptp cmputr with th vrstility f high spd mbil dt ntwrk. fficincy, prductivity, bttm lin. Cmpnis r rlling ut Blutth -nbld mdicl dvics (such s wrist-wrn snsr tht trnsmits puls dt t mnitr), cnsumr pplincs (including micrwv vns, rfrigrtrs, nd wshrs nd dryrs), nd ffic gds (fr xmpl, whitbrd tht trnsmits nts s thy'r writtn). Prprly implmntd, tls lik ths culd b timsvrs r vn lifsvrs. Hwvr, th grwing numbr f Blutth dvics ls mns tht thr's lt f prsnl nd finncil infrmtin ging thrugh th ir. ny businss cnsidring such pplictins must first undrstnd wht th tchnlgy is, hw it wrks, nd th ntur f th risks nd rwrds. Sinc its dvlpmnt in 1994 by ricssn, mr thn 1,800 cmpnis wrldwid, including Mtrl, hv signd n s mmbrs f th Blutth Spcil Intrst Grup (SIG) t build prducts with th wirlss spcifictin nd prmt th nw tchnlgy in th mrkt. Blutth hs rng f up t 30 ft, giving usrs grtr mbility in th wrkspc. Unlik infrrd cnnctins, usrs dn't hv t hv lin-f-sight cnnctin t th dvic bing ccssd. Plus, withut cbls, th wrk nvirnmnt lks nd fls mr cmfrtbl (Ganguli, 2002). Blutth cn ls b usd t mk wirlss dt cnnctins t cnvntinl lcl r ntwrks (LNs) thrugh n ccss pint quippd with Blutth rdi trnscivr tht is wird t th LN. Fr xmpl, yu cn rply t n -mil n yur PD, tll th dvic t mk n Intrnt cnnctin thrugh mbil phn, print cpy f th -mil n printr nrby, nd rcrd th riginl n th dsktp PC--ll whil wlking dwn th hll. Whtvr th rng, Blutth is nt dsignd t trnsfr lrg munts f dt quickly, s it's nt cmpting with thr typs f wirlss tchnlgis. Th chips dn't nd much pwr t wrk, mning tht thy r gd fit fr smll dvics such s phns. Cll phns tht us Blutth hv bn vilbl in urp fr sm tim. But th prtcl is strting t gin ccptnc in th Unitd Stts mrkt s wll, nd mrkt rsrchrs In-Stt prdict n xplsin f Blutth chipsts frm 75 millin in 2005 t 720 millin in 2008. Nw hnds-fr driving lws hv prvidd n ddd imptus fr th us f Blutth hdsts in th Unitd Stts. In dditin, th prtcl is incrsingly bing built int nw lptps nd PDs, nd vndrs lik Igr r cming ut with nw prducts dsignd t tk dvntg f Blutth PNs. Jsph Zhng, Blutth prduct mngr fr Igr, which mks wirlss ntwrking dvics, sys tht Igr hs built USB-dngl tht fits int cmputr's USB prt nd instntly Blutth -nbls tht cmputr, nd Blutth print dptr tht fits int printr's prt nd llws Blutth -nbld cmputr t cmmunict wirlssly. Mny s mr mdst rl fr Blutth principlly s cbl rplcmnt tchnlgy, tking vr th rl f wird sril r USB cnnctins. In cntrst t IR, Blutth llws pint-t-multi-pint cnnctins, thus crting n d-hc wirlss cnnctin f "mstr" nd (up t svn) "slvs." ls, s ppsd t IR, Blutth cmmunictin cn b inititd by th dvics thmslvs, llwing fr slf-mnitring nd utmtd intrctins. Givn th prlifrtin f cll phns in urp, Blutth is xpctd t gin fthld thr first. It is lrdy incrprtd int vrity f phns vilbl in urp. It dsn't stp t cmputrs, mbil phns nd hndhld cmputrs. Cmmrcil vhicls r nw instlling Blutth systms fr drivr cmmunictins, hnds fr clling nd dt cptur. Hspitls r mplying th us f wirlss puls ximtrs - which rducs th liklihd f ptint ccidntlly rmving th puls rcivr. Th city f sl, Nrwy is using Blutth snsr dvics nd cmmunictins quipmnt t mnitr criticl wtr pumping sttins. z prk in Dnmrk is using Blutth wirlss tchnlgy t trck th lctin f ch child in th z t nsur tht prnts cn pin-pint thir lctin in th prk t ll tims whil giving th childrn th frdm t xplr. Blutth wirlss tchnlgy is vrstil dvlpmnt fr ff-th-shlf tchnlgy bckd by vr 2000 cmpnis nd dvlpmnt xprts. If Blutth wirlss tchnlgy isn't slving prblm in yur cmpny, thn yu still hv t lst n prblm. Futur trnds in Blutth tchnlgy Blutth tchnlgy lik ny xisting n is nt prfct nd my b grtly xpndd in its functins nd pprtunitis. Futur trnds in Blutth tchnlgy r likly t dvlp th systm until it is mr prfct nd xclud th risks f scurity, mking n unuthrizd cnnctin nd srching th prgrms tht culd b usd t discvr th xistnc f wirlss ntwrks Scurity risks. Blutth hs sm built-in scurity msurs. Sm f th risks r th rsult f svvy nginrs simply twking th prtcl t mk it wrk mr prductivly. In this ctgry r prjcts t widn Blutth's rng. Th prtcl's smll ftprint--prticulrly s cmprd with trditinl wirlss ntwrks--hs bn cnsidrd lvl f prtctin; ftr ll, if dvics r bl t cmmunict nly within fw ft f ch thr, it bcms much mr difficult fr n ttckr t vn lct ntwrk. Fr xmpl, U.K.-bsd IT cnsultncy Pntst Limitd hs rlsd rsrch shwing n sy wy t dd smll but pwrful ntnn t Blutth USB dngl. Tsts run by Pntst fund tht using ths ltrd dngls incrsd th prtcl's rng t mr thn 240 mtrs. This culd cncivbly llw smn utsid building--sy, sitting in prking lt--t s PN insid, sys Tim Hurmn, scurity cnsultnt with Pntst. It ls mns tht Blutth PNs r subjct t th sm thrt f vsdrpping s mr trditinl wirlss ntwrks. prf-f-cncpt high-pwr ntnn clld BluSnipr ws unvild in 2004 t th cmputr-scurity cnfrnc knwn s DfCn. Th dvic lks lrmingly lik rifl with high-pwr scp tht hs n ntnn instd f brrl. Its crtrs imd it ut htl windw nd wr bl t "s" Nki phn mr thn mil wy. dm Luri, ntwrk scurity xprt wh is chif scurity fficr f Th Bunkr, scur clctin fcility in th U.K., discvrd flws in Blutth tht llwd svrl typs f ttcks, including n h hs dubbd "blusnrfing" ("snrfing" is tchi jrgn mning t tking unuthrizd cpis f infrmtin). Blusnrfing, xplins Luri, "is bsiclly th bility vr th Blutth chnnl t mk n unuthrizd cnnctin t phn nd cpy th cntnts f th phn bk, clndr," nd sm tchnicl dtils including th phn's IMI numbr-- uniqu numricl idntifir f cll phns tht frgrs nd t cln phn. Luri lrtd th Blutth SIG, but it wsn't until h pstd th rsrch n scurity nwsgrups such s BugTrq, h sys, tht th SIG rspndd t him nd prvidd tchnicl cntcts with whm h culd discuss th prblm. Th prblm with blusnrfing gs fr bynd lss f privcy, Luri xplins. H tlls th stry f dmnstrting blusnrfing t frind wh mngd chin f cff shps. Sh mvd rund mng hr multipl shps, s in hr cll phn sh md lctrnic nts but th shps tht sh mngd, including dr PIN cds, lrm cds, nd th sf cmbintin. Luri ws bl t sily xtrct ll tht infrmtin frm hr phn withut hr knwldg. H dds tht it's nt uncmmn fr cllphn wnrs t us thir phns s lctrnic rpsitris fr dt, ll f which cn b vulnrbl t ttck. ustrin IT-scurity rsrchr Mrtin Hrfurt cnductd blusnrfing xprimnts t CBIT 2004, hvily ttndd cmputr xhibitin hld nnully in Grmny. Hrfurt fund tht h culd snrf 44 f 135 Nki 6310i phns tht pssd by his bth (thr typs f phns wr vulnrbl s wll) (Smyth, 2004). In whit ppr n th xprimnt, Hrfurt nts tht h culd hv snt txt mssg frm, inititd phn cll frm, r vn crtd nw phn-bk ntry n th vulnrbl phns. Sm Blutth ttcks sm custm-md fr spis, crprt nd thrwis. Th vulnrbilitis mk pssibl typ f ttck h clls blubugging. This is mr srius ttck thn blusnrfing, which nly prvids ccss t rstrictd prts f Blutth dvic. Blubugging givs th bility t tk full cntrl f th [victim's] phn itslf t lvl whr yu cn mk clls, snd SMS [txt] mssgs, rd rcivd SMS mssgs, dit th phn bk, dlt ntris, whtvr yu wnt (Miller, Bisdikian, 2002). ll this ws ccmplishd withut his frind hving ny id f wht ws hppning. Luri dds tht h culd hv dn th sm fr ny thr Blutth phn in th pub. thr risks t Blutth dvics r still thrticl, but rsrch cntinus pc. Ths includ ttcks n th piring prcss nd viruss. But thr r still pssibl scurity issus. ccrding t ntwrk scurity xprt dm Luri, wh hs fund flws in th Blutth prtcl, it's pssibl tht whil th dt bing trnsfrrd is sf, th ring nd scnnr cmbintin my prvid gtwy t th crprt ntwrk. Much, h sys, dpnds n hw th hrdwr is st up nd hw ccss t th ntwrk is cnfigurd (Brodsky, 2003). Lwlss sys tht th cmpny cnsidrd ll th ptins bfr implmnting Blutth. "W did lt f xmintin f scurity issus" f Blutth nd 802.11b nd wrkd clsly with vndrs t build s much scurity int th systm s pssibl, including sm prpritry scurity msurs dsignd t kp unuthrizd usrs ff th ntwrk. Nvrthlss, th cmpny isn't tking ny chncs; it hirs scurity firm t d pridic ssssmnts "t mk sur w truly r s imprvius s w think w r," Slzmn sys. Thr hs bn quit buzz but Blutth nd th r f "prsnl r ntwrks" (ls bing clld "picnts") r "infrmtin cluds" this wirlss tchnlgy prmiss t crt. Th id is tht nc Blutth cmpnnts bcm inxpnsiv nugh (frm th currnt US $20 t US $5), thy will bcm mbddd in ll kinds f mchins, including VCRs, wshr-dryrs, stvs, micrwvs, nd CD-plyrs, ll f which culd b mnitrd nd cntrlld by Blutth. ricssn nvisins scnri in which mll shpprs wuld ccss sls infrmtin n thir PDs s thy strll, r cmrs might snd instntly picturs t rltivs s thy r tkn. Fr sm, this kind f ll-ncmpssing ntwrk is mr thrtning thn nticing. f intrst t lngug tchrs is th fct tht Blutth supprts vic s wll s dt. In cnclusin, blutth wirlss tchnlgy nbld prducts hv brught th Prsnl r Ntwrk t lif. Tdy w synchrniz, cnnct, shr nd listn using Blutth wirlss tchnlgy. Tmrrw w find nw uss, nw pplictins nd nw rsns fr Prsnl r Ntwrks t cnvrg. Bibliography: 1. Brent Miller, Chatschik Bisdikian (2002). "Bluetooth Revealed: The Insider's Guide to an Open Specification for Global Wireless Communications", 2nd Edition, Published by Prentice Hall PTR. Dimensions ; Pages: 384; Edition: 2nd. 2. Brodsky, I. 2003. Wireless: The Revolution in Personal Telecommunications, Massachusetts: Artech House. ISBN 0890067171 3. Ganguli, M. 2002. Getting Started with Bluetooth, Ohio: Premier Press. ISBN 1931841837 4. Lightman, A. and Rojas, W. 2002. Brave New Unwired World, New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 0471441104 5. Muller, N. 2001. Bluetooth Demystified. United States of America: The McGraw- Hill Companies, Inc. ISBN 0071363238 6. Smyth, P. ed. 2004. Mobile and Wireless Communications: Key Technologies and Future Applications, London: The Institute of Electrical Engineers. ISBN 0863413684 7. Swaminatha, T. and Elden, C. 2003. Wireless Security and Privacy: Best Practices and Design Techniques, Massachusetts: Pearson Education, Inc. ISBN 0201760347 8. Th fficil Blutth SIG Wbsit (http://www.blutth.cm/) 9. blutth.nt (http://www.blutth.nt) 10. ncyclpdi Britnnic (http://www.britnnic.cm/) 11. ll but th Mbil Blutth (http://www.mbilblutth.cm/) 12. Blutth rchitctur vrviw (http://www.micrsft.cm/WinHc/prsnts/Mbil/Mbil4/Mbil4_fils/frm.htm) 13. Nchtshim, Stphn, Blutth Tchnlgy: Th Cnvrgnc f Cmputing nd Cmmunictins. GSM Wrld Cngrss - Fbrury 25, 1999. (http://www.gsmdt.cm/cnns99/cnnsppr.htm) 14. Mttl, Riku, Blutth Prtcl rchitctur: Vrsin 1.0 (Blutth Whit Ppr Dcumnt # 1.C.120/1.0). (http://www.blutth.cm) 15. Mullr, Thms, Blutth Scurity rchitctur: Vrsin 1.0 (Blutth Whit Ppr Dcumnt # 1.C.116/1.0). (http://www.blutth.cm) 16. Blutth Spcifictin: Vlum 1, Cr. (http://www.blutth.cm) 17. Blutth Spcifictin: Vlum 2, Prfils. (http://www.blutth.cm) 18. IrD vrsus Blutth: Cmplmntry Cmprisn (http://www.cuntrsys.cm/tch/blutth.html) 19. WP Frum (http://www.wpfrum.rg) 20. WP WTLS Spcifictin Vrsin 05-Nv-1999 (http://www.wpfrum.rg) Read More