Authors:
Ye-Sol Oh
1
;
Yeon-Ji Lee
1
;
Jiwon Jang
1
;
Hyunwoo Choi
2
and
Il-Gu Lee
3
Affiliations:
1
Department of Future Convergence Technology Engineering, Sungshin Women’s University, Seoul, 02844, South Korea
;
2
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, South Korea
;
3
Department of Convergence Security Engineering, Sungshin Women’s University, Seoul, 02844, South Korea
Keyword(s):
Covert Channel, BLE, iBeacon, iBeacon Payload, Advertising Interval.
Abstract:
Covert channels are typically employed to transmit information and bypass security policies and controls simultaneously to maintain undetected communication. Various techniques have been proposed for establishing covert channels, including those at the network level, and for using different components. This study investigated the security implications of Apple’s iBeacon broadcast messages by focusing on the establishment of covert channels. We introduce two Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) covert channels: one using broadcast payloads and the other employing broadcasting intervals. These channels can be used in a complementary manner, balancing covertness and bandwidth. In our evaluation, the payload-based covert channel achieved a maximum throughput of 911,600 Bytes per second (Bps) with a Packet Delivery Rate (PDR) exceeding 75%, demonstrating its capability to transmit substantial data via iBeacon covertly. This study focuses on enhancing the security of BLE Beacon deployment.