Apple's AirTag can be hacked and its software modified, as a security researcher has now discovered. An investigation into the microcontroller has shown that elements can be reprogrammed to change certain functions.
Apple is known for incorporating a high level of security into its products, and this has naturally made the new AirTags a target for security researchers. Now it's clear that some AirTag elements can be modified. German security researcher "Stack Smashing" revealed on Twitter that he had managed to "break into the microcontroller" of the AirTag. The hack, posted on Saturday and first reported by The 8-Bit discovered Tweet contains some details about the device. After several hours and destroying several tags in the process, the researcher created firmware dumps and finally discovered that the microcontroller could be reflashed. In short, the researcher proved that it was possible to modify the microcontroller's programming to alter its functionality. An initial demonstration showed an AirTag with a modified NFC URL, which, when scanned with an iPhone, displays a custom URL instead of the usual "found.apple.com" link.
AirTag relies on secure “Find My” network
Although the investigations are still in their early stages, they show that it takes considerable know-how and effort to even hack the AirTag. In a demonstration video, the modified AirTag is shown connected to cables that claim to only supply power to the device. It's plausible that similar techniques could be used for malicious purposes, although it's unclear at this point how far they could be taken. Given that AirTag relies on the secure "Find My" network for Lost Mode to work, it seems likely that Apple would introduce some form of server-side defense against maliciously modified versions. A hidden debug mode was recently discovered in AirTag, providing developers with significantly more information about the device's hardware than users would normally need. More on this below. (Image via Twitter @ghidraninja)
