Survey of Side-Channel Vulnerabilities for Short-Range Wireless Communication Technologies

Short-range wireless communications have become a part of everyday human life and protecting the security and privacy of user data is the primary goal in this digital era. Multiple short-range wireless communication technologies including RFID, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Qi, and Li-Fi are susceptible to side-channel vulnerabilities. We review the major side-channel vulnerabilities associated with each short-range wireless communication technology, categorize them to identify the type of associated threat and provide mitigation techniques. We use passive and active threats for categorization and to understand the level of impact. We discuss the implications of the identified vulnerabilities and present potential directions further to strengthen the protection of users’ privacy and security.