Beacon spoofing

Archive
1

Hello,

I'd like to know if, at the moment, beacons incorporate any type of security in terms of possibility of being replicated.
Can one simply get the public UUID+Minor+Major, buy another beacon, and replicate the UUID+Minor+Major, therefore copying the original beacon?

Thanks

2

YES. To prevent this, enable secure UUID.

Unfortunately the technology is flawed on a public network. Anyone can read your ID, use it, or just copy it. Android more so than iPhone.

Otherwise you could invent some crazy security system involving multiple beacons or checking GPS location.

3

Hello,

Let me jump in. At the moment Estimote platforms offers two layers of security:

  1. Authentication process designed to prevent unauthorized access
  2. ‘Secure UUID’ mechanism for rotating beacon ID at a fixed interval to block piggybacking on someone’s beacon network. You can find more details about it here: https://community.estimote.com/hc/en-us/articles/204233603-What-is-Secure-UUID-and-how-does-it-work-

Both features are integrated with Estimote Cloud, but please note that while authentication is mandatory, using Secure UUID is optional. You can enable it in Estimote iOS app, the process is described in a link above.

In the future, we’re planning to put even more emphasis on security and encryption, stay tuned!