Security; Turning The Bluetooth Radio Mode On And Off; Disabling Bluetooth - Motorola FR68 Series User Manual


NOTE It is not recommended to perform Bluetooth wireless technology inquiry when high rate 802.11b
operation is required.

Security

The current Bluetooth specification defines security at the link level. Application-level security is not
specified. This allows application developers to define security mechanisms tailored to their specific
need. Link-level security occurs between devices, not users, while application-level security can be
implemented on a per-user basis. The Bluetooth specification defines security algorithms and
procedures needed to authenticate devices, and if needed, encrypt the data flowing on the link
between the devices. Device authentication is a mandatory feature of Bluetooth while link encryption is
optional.
Pairing of Bluetooth devices is accomplished by creating an initialization key that is used to
authenticate the devices and create a link key for them. Entering a common PIN number in the
devices being paired generates the initialization key. The PIN number is never sent over the air. By
default, the Bluetooth stack responds with no key when a key is requested (it is up to user to respond
to the key request event). Authentication of Bluetooth devices is based-upon a challenge-response
transaction. Bluetooth allows for a PIN number or passkey that is used to create other 128-bit keys
used for security and encryption. The encryption key is derived from the link key used to authenticate
the pairing devices. Also worthy of note is the limited range and fast frequency hopping of the
Bluetooth radios that makes long-distance eavesdropping difficult.
Recommendations are:

Perform pairing in a secure environment.

Keep PIN codes private and don't store the PIN codes in the mobile computer.

Implement application-level security.

Turning the Bluetooth Radio Mode On and Off

Turn off the Bluetooth radio to save power or if entering an area with radio restrictions (e.g., an
airplane). When the radio is off, other Bluetooth devices cannot see or connect to the FR68 Series.
Turn on the Bluetooth radio to exchange information with other Bluetooth devices (within range).
Communicate only with Bluetooth radios in close proximity.


NOTE To achieve the best battery life turn off radios not in use.

Disabling Bluetooth

To disable Bluetooth, tap Bluetooth icon to enter Wireless Manager. Tap Bluetooth icon to change
on to off. The Bluetooth icon changes to indicate that Bluetooth is disabled.
62
Using Bluetooth