Developer sends travelers Christmas greetings via unregistered beacons Schiphol

A developer has temporarily taken over ownership of some beacons at Schiphol and uses them to send Christmas messages and a link to his site to passers-by via nearby notifications. The beacons turned out not to be registered with Google.

In order for beacons to send those notifications, an owner must have registered them with Google, but Schiphol had failed to do so, AndroidWorld describes. Developer Hugo Visser, who previously made Android apps such as Rainy Days, discovered this and registered a number of beacons at Schiphol himself to send travelers a Christmas message and a link to his website. to steer.

Approximately 2,000 beacons have been installed at Schiphol since 2014, including in the departure halls, lounges, piers and baggage reclaim halls. Mobile apps can provide travelers with relevant information and advice based on their location via the bluetooth beacons.

Last June, Google announced Nearby, which allows beacons to send notifications themselves. Users of a smartphone with Android 4.4 or later that have Bluetooth and GPS turned on can, for example, install an app or go to a site with a click on the notification. The search giant does not check whether the person who registers the beacon is really the owner.

According to Visser, despite Google’s protection measures, the unregistered beacons can be misused to redirect people to malware, for example: “They have installed ‘cutting edge’ tech at Schiphol without keeping up with developments apparently.” According to him, hundreds of people were directed to his site via the beacons, but many more people would have received the notification without clicking through.

Update, 12.55: Schiphol informs Nu.nl that it will register all beacons with Google.