Threats, Countermeasures, and Research Trends for BLE-based IoT Devices

The Internet of Things has conjured up a storm in the technology world by providing novel methods to connect, exchange, aggregate, and monitor data across a system of inter-related devices and entities. Of the myriad technologies that aid in the functioning of these IoT devices, Bluetooth Low Energy also known as BLE plays a major role in establishing inter-connectivity amongst these devices. This thesis aims to provide a background on BLE, the type of attacks that could occur in an IoT setting, the possible defenses that are available to prevent the occurrence of such attacks, and a discussion on the research trends that hold great promise in presenting seamless solutions to integrate IoT devices across different industry verticals.