Bluejack
City
By Ryan Olson
The
Bluetooth search returned with precisely five victims. Note: From
this point on, the adrenaline had taken over so I could not be held
responsible for any of my actions, including smiling rather too
much. I chose one phone from this list in particular, named 6310i,
as I could see a lady in a stripy-pink top extracting her 6310i
from her handbag-type-thing.
As soon as I sent the contact, I automatically went into 'alert'
status...Not even 10 seconds later, just as I expected, a distinguishable
beeping came from the direction of the pink-stripy lady that we
had encountered earlier. And, sure enough, it was her phone that
I was bluejacking. Pink-stripy lady had just become my first memorable
victim.
This testimonial
comes from Ellie G., a 13-year old girl from Surrey, UK. In October
2003 she started a web site that is now a busy meeting place for
techie pranksters swapping stories and offering advice about their
covert missions. It’s a place where cell phones and text
messages are the weapons, malls and train stations are the hunting
grounds, and the victims survive with little more than a tinge
of embarrassment or confusion.
Bluejacking — described by some as a modern version of ringing
someone’s doorbell and running away — allows owners
of some cell phones and personal digital assistants to send anonymous
text messages to nearby strangers owning compatible devices. Since
Ellie launched www.bluejackq.com, articles about her, the web
site and bluejacking are popping up not only on technology web
sites such as The Register and Slashdot, but also in mainstream
media outlets including the BBC and CNN. Bluejacking is possible
because of a technology called Bluetooth, found on an increasing
number of cell phones, PDAs, computers and even automobiles.
If you’re
wondering why this is taking place now and involving a technology
you’ve never even heard of, you’re not alone. A 2002
survey of British, Japanese and American citizens showed Bluetooth
familiarity highest in the UK and lowest in the U.S. In Europe,
the mobile phone industry drives innovation. In America it’s
the PC industry, and in Asia, it’s consumer electronics,
says Mike McCamon, marketing director at the Bluetooth Special
Interest Group (SIG), an organization focused on promoting the
technology. With the help of Apple's AirPort, Intel's...
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