Written question asked by Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour) on Monday, 26 April 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 30 April 2004. It was answered by Stephen Timms (Labour) on Friday, 30 April 2004 on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Dept of Trade and Industry

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what discussions she has had with the mobile telephone industry to reduce the vulnerability to hacking of Bluetooth-enabled telephones and wireless headsets.

Answer: Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with the mobile telephone industry to reduce the vulnerability to hacking of Bluetooth-enabled telephones and wireless headsets. [169237] Mr. Timms: DTI officials are in regular contact with mobile industry bodies and have raised this issue with them. All Bluetooth devices adhere to the Bluetooth technical specification in order to ensure worldwide compatibility. Action to address the vulnerability of Bluetooth enabled devices to hacking would therefore need to be taken at the international level to be effective across all devices. However, not all Bluetooth devices are vulnerable to this security threat. I understand that the industry is working both to address the vulnerability of all new devices (of the type affected) to hacking, and to tackle the present threat.

Secondary information