ODESSA, Texas — October is Cyber-Security Awareness Month and the FBI is doing their part in giving citizens info on the different kinds of threats out there.
Now they're warning citizens that it's not just your computers, phones, or any other device that uses Wi-Fi that is at risk, but also devices that use Bluetooth.
Bluetooth devices include things such as smart watches and cameras.
“So, some of these devices I've said they connect mainly through Wi-Fi but a lot of them are reliant on Bluetooth. And a lot of these devices also have Bluetooth active as a default... And this is what the criminals see that as a way in because Bluetooth doesn't have a lot of security measures that other wireless interfaces do,” said FBI Special Agent Sergio Barrio.
While you should still keep an eye on all your devices that use Wi-Fi, the FBI wants to make sure you don’t forget about anything connected to Bluetooth as well.
The precautions that you can take are very simple according to the FBI.
“The best thing to do is look at the devices first of all that you have on your network. If you look through your router, it’ll list every single device that’s connected to your internet. So maybe start there in case there might be a device that you’re not aware of that’s connecting to your internet or you’ve forgotten about,” Barrio continued.
The FBI also suggests turning off Bluetooth on your devices whenever you're not using them to keep them from being compromised.