Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Empowering you to understand your world
AirDrop sharing screen

Apple AirDrop Vulnerability Could Expose Users’ Phone Numbers, Emails

AirDrop — a sharing feature included in all Apple phones, tablets, and computers has a vulnerability, according to the German university Technische Universitat Darmstadt. The security vulnerability may expose users’ phone numbers and email addresses if they bring up their sharing panel on their Mac OS or iOS devices.

According to the research, the vulnerability could expose your phone number/email even to strangers within range of your device (this means devices within your Bluetooth and Wi-Fi range). This was attributed to a vulnerability in the hashing functions that obfuscate users’ phone numbers/emails.

“As an attacker, it is possible to learn the phone numbers and email addresses of AirDrop users – even as a complete stranger. All they require is a Wi-Fi-capable device and physical proximity to a target that initiates the discovery process by opening the sharing pane on an iOS or macOS device,” Secure Mobile Networking Lab (SEEMOO) and the Cryptography and Privacy Engineering Group (ENCRYPTO) said in a press release.

In this day and age personal information (especially unique identifiers such as email, which link you to your online activities and can get you hacked) is desperately sought after by criminals and corporations alike. That means that this vulnerability needs to be nipped in the bud as quickly as possible.

To protect yourself, you can turn AirDrop off for now by bringing up the Control Center, tap and hold the square with the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth icons in it, then tap AirDrop > Receiving Off. Or you can avoid bringing up the sharing panel when in public places, since that is when your details are exposed.

Share this article
Shareable URL
Prev Post

Beavers Chew Through Canadians’ Internet Service

Next Post

Sudbury Purchases Fleet Of Teslas For Paramedic Use

Leave a Reply

Read next
Subscribe to our newsletter
Get notified when new content is published