113
make.co
OpenHaystack, developed by the Secure Mobile
Networking Lab of TU Darmstadt in Germany, is
precisely such an open-source implementation
and the result of extensive reverse engineering
and analysis.
“OpenHaystack is an application that allows
you to create your own accessories that are
tracked by Apple’s Find My network. All you
need is a Mac and a BBC micro:bit or any other
Bluetooth-capable device,” the developers claim.
At the moment, you still need either a
macOS computer or a virtual machine (and an
Apple ID) to retrieve location reports. This is
because the Apple backend requires extensive
authentication data (based on an Apple ID), whose
generation has not been reverse-engineered and
reimplemented yet. For this reason, the retrieval
app also includes a custom Apple Mail plugin that
is used to fetch the required credentials.
The project page at github.com/seemoo-lab/
openhaystack includes detailed installation
instructions and contains firmware compatible
with ESP32 and nRF51822 microcontroller boards
(it’s currently not possible to track actual AirTags
using OpenHaystack).
This provides two appealing DIY tracker
deployment options:
1. Using an ESP32, a power bank, and USB cable
— all of which you might already have at home
(Figure
A
).
2. A sleeker version using an nRF51822-based
beacon and a small coin cell in case the battery
is not included (Figure
B
). This version also
requires the use of an SWD programmer to
flash the firmware (Figure
C
).
After following the OpenHaystack installation
instructions, flashing a tracker, and waiting a bit
for the first location reports to arrive, the AirTag
clone’s last location can be seen on a map in the
OpenHaystack macOS app (Figure
D
).
The team has recently also released a mobile
version of OpenHaystack for iOS and Android
(Figure
E
), however it requires the user to build
the app themselves and host an API backend
running on a Mac.
Fabian Bräunlein, OpenHaystack
D
E
M83_110-17_SB_AirTags_F1.indd 113M83_110-17_SB_AirTags_F1.indd 113 10/11/22 12:07 PM10/11/22 12:07 PM
..................Content has been hidden....................
You can't read the all page of ebook, please click here login for view all page.