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Hundreds of Millions of Audio Devices Need a Patch to Prevent Wireless Hacking and Tracking (www.wired.com)
submitted 3 weeks ago by dance_ninja@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world
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Flaws in how 17 models of headphones and speakers use Google’s one-tap Fast Pair Bluetooth protocol have left devices open to eavesdroppers and stalkers.

Link to see devices impacted: https://whisperpair.eu/

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[-] postnataldrip@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago

If you want to listen to their mic via bluetooth or whatever, yes. But there's also this:

Some devices also support Google's Find Hub network. This enables users to find their lost accessories using crowdsourced location reports from other Android devices. However, if an accessory has never been paired with an Android device, an attacker can add the accessory using their own Google account. This allows the attacker to track the user via the compromised accessory.

[-] PierceTheBubble@lemmy.ml 2 points 3 weeks ago

If the devices weren’t previously linked to a Google account ... then a hacker could ... also link it to their Google account.

This already severely limits the pool of potential victims; but still a more practical exploit indeed. It's almost as if this BLE tracking is a feature, rather than an exploit. And if you want to be notified of a device following you around, one has to perpetually enable BLE on their smartphone. But of course, headphone jacks are a thing of the past, and wireless is clearly the future. :)

this post was submitted on 16 Jan 2026
62 points (100.0% liked)

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