Researcher hacked Apple AirTag two weeks after its launch

Apple AirTag has been launched less than two weeks ago, but a security researcher already claims to have hacked them.

The Apple AirTag has been available for just a couple of weeks and hacking community is already working on it to demonstrate that how to compromise it.

“The German security researcher Stack Smashing tweeted today (via The 8-bit) that he was able to “break into the microcontroller of the AirTag” and modified elements of the item tracker software.” reported the 9to5Mac website.

“A microcontroller is an integrated circuit (IC) used for controlling devices usually via a microprocessing unit, memory, and other peripherals. According to AllAboutCircuits, “these devices are optimized for embedded applications that require both processing functionality and agile, responsive interaction with digital, analog, or electromechanical components.”

Now, the German security researcher Stack Smashing claims that he was able to hack the Apple device breaking into its microcontroller and modifying its NFC URL for Lost Mode.

The researcher explained that has found a way to modify the tracker software running on the tag, he was able to modify its NFC URL.

Smashing published a video PoC of the hack, it shows two Apple AirTag devices and one of them was hacked by the researcher.

The regular item tracker used in the test opens the Find My website, while the modified one opens an arbitrary URL that was chosen by the expert.

Experts pointed out that this is possible because Apple lack in implementing a server-side blocking mechanism to prevent that a modified AirTag will access the Find My Network.

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Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, AirTag)

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Pierluigi Paganini

Pierluigi Paganini is member of the ENISA (European Union Agency for Network and Information Security) Threat Landscape Stakeholder Group and Cyber G7 Group, he is also a Security Evangelist, Security Analyst and Freelance Writer. Editor-in-Chief at "Cyber Defense Magazine", Pierluigi is a cyber security expert with over 20 years experience in the field, he is Certified Ethical Hacker at EC Council in London. The passion for writing and a strong belief that security is founded on sharing and awareness led Pierluigi to find the security blog "Security Affairs" recently named a Top National Security Resource for US. Pierluigi is a member of the "The Hacker News" team and he is a writer for some major publications in the field such as Cyber War Zone, ICTTF, Infosec Island, Infosec Institute, The Hacker News Magazine and for many other Security magazines. Author of the Books "The Deep Dark Web" and “Digital Virtual Currency and Bitcoin”.