Using AirDrop could allow hackers to obtain your phone number

Apple's AirDrop is undeniably convenient for sending photos, videos, links, and more between iPhones, iPads, and Macs. But there's one thing you probably didn't know AirDrop's sharing: part of your phone number, which in the wrong hands, could be used to recover your full digits.

Security researchers at Hexway (via Ars Technica) have discovered a "flaw" in AirDrop that can used to obtain unsuspecting iPhone users' phone numbers using software installed on a laptop and a Bluetooth and WiFi adapter to sniff them out.

Because of the way AirDrop works — it uses Bluetooth LE (Low Energy) to create a peer-to-peer WiFi network between devices for sharing — it broadcasts partial hashes of an iPhone user's phone number in order establish the device as a sending/receiving contact when sending a file. Read more...