German security researcher Stack Smashing mentioned that he was capable of “break into the microcontroller of the AirTag” and modified parts of the merchandise tracker software program.
Apple AirTag is a small iPhone accent that helps preserve monitor of and discover the objects that matter most with Apple’s Find My app.
Apple is well-known for having excessive ranges of security constructed into its merchandise, which has led to the brand new AirTags changing into a goal for security researchers, AppleInsider reported.
After just a few hours and the destruction of a number of tags within the course of, the security researcher made firmware dumps and finally found the microcontroller could possibly be reflashed, the report mentioned.
In quick, the researcher proved it was doable to change the programming of the microcontroller, to vary the way it capabilities.
An preliminary demonstration confirmed an AirTag with a modified NFC URL that, when scanned with an iPhone, shows a customized URL as a substitute of the same old “found.apple.com” hyperlink.
While solely in its early phases, the analysis reveals that it takes loads of know-how and effort to hack AirTag within the first place.
During an illustration video, the modified AirTag is proven hooked up to cables, that are claimed to supply simply energy to the system.
Given that AirTag depends on the safe Find My community for its Lost Mode to operate, it appears seemingly that Apple would roll out some type of server-side protection in opposition to any maliciously modified variations, the report mentioned.
Since its launch, a hidden debug mode has been present in AirTag, offering builders with significantly extra info than customers would usually want concerning the system’s {hardware}, it added.
Â
#mute
