Data-stealing Snoopy drone unveiled at Black Hat

Security firm SensePost has unveiled its Snoopy drone, which can steal data from unsuspecting smartphone users, at the Black Hat security conference in Singapore.

The drone uses the company's software, which is installed on a computer attached to a drone.

That code can be used to hack smartphones and steal personal data - all without a user's knowledge.

It does this by exploiting handsets looking for a wireless signal.

Glenn Wilkinson, who developed Snoopy, says that when the software is attached to a drone flying around an area, it can gather everything from a user's home address to his or her bank information.

"Every device we carry emits unique signatures - even pacemakers come with wi-fi today," Mr Wilkinson tells the BBC.

"And - holy smokes, what a bad idea."


[link to www.bbc.co.uk]