Security Researchers Nibble at Bluetooth
Developed as a low-power, low-cost replacement for printer cables and Palm-style infrared beaming, Bluetooth operates on the same unlicensed 2.4 GHz spectrum as 802.11, but has a much smaller range. It's found mostly in Europe, in mobile phones, PDAs, laptops, and wireless headsets, among other things.
The technology has been slower to infiltrate North America, but a slew of Bluetooth-friendly announcements this month from the likes of HP, Microsoft and, on Tuesday, cell phone-maker Qualcomm all suggest that Bluetooth is poised for wide adoption in Canada and the States. At the same time, June saw a Bluetooth announcement of a different kind in the computer security world: the release of the first hacking tool aimed at the technology.