AirTag hacked
Apple usually secures the products they make well, but that also presents nice challenges for security researchers. Within a week it appears that the tracker has already been hacked and reprogrammed. On Twitter, & lsquo; Stack Smashing & rsquo; (obviously not the real name) see that it is possible to access the AirTag's microcontroller and tweak things. Around the same time, electrical engineer Colin O'Flynn published his discoveries, explaining exactly the function of the contact points.
A few AirTags did break in the process, so this is not something that you will casually get to grips with. The researcher made firmware dumps and found that the microcontroller could be flashed again. It was also possible to program the microcontroller differently so that it functions differently.
Wrote up my short notes on the test point mapping & ndash; nothing new if you watched the thread! But an easier reference for everyone to get started I think: https://t.co/MQXQbYkYlK #hardwarehacking #AirTag pic.twitter.com/oOFsjHvQdb
& mdash; Colin O'Flynn (@colinoflynn) May 8, 2021
For example, it turned out to be possible to show a different URL for the NFC function. Normally you will see found.apple.com when you scan an AirTag with an NFC phone. These are only small steps, but it offers the prospect of much bigger adjustments. The researcher warns that it takes a lot of knowledge to hack the AirTag. The AirTag is connected with cables, which are only needed for the power supply, not for data functions.
And confirmed that we can re-flash the microcontroller! Woohoo.
& mdash; stacksmashing (@ghidraninja) May 8, 2021
Hacking AirTag with restrictions
However, it does not mean that you can just adjust everything and use the AirTag for your own hobby projects soon. Apple has probably also put security features on the server side, so you can't do everything with it. It does have some potentially fun uses, such as attaching AirTags to items that are often loaned. In companies and schools you can easily find items that have been lent out within the building. At the moment the AirTag is still very personal use and you cannot share it.
Via: Colin O & rsquo; Flynn
It remains to be seen what else is possible and to what extent Apple will stop this. Since its introduction, a hidden developer menu has also been found for the AirTag, so that you can browse around without tools. Of course you do dot at your own risk: there is a chance that your AirTag will become unusable.
Another nice & lsquo; hack & rsquo; is to make the AirTag thinner. A man came up with the idea to split the battery and the electronics and place them next to each other in a 3D printed container.