Why US Vice President Kamala Harris using wired headphones, not Bluetooth, is a great idea

Bluetooth headphones vs wired headphones: Those who have closely followed the recent US general elections might have noticed US Vice President Kamala Harris clutching on to a pair of wired headphones in her hand while making the famous ‘We did it, Joe’ call to Joe Biden upon winning the elections. This is also not the only time that she was seen with wired headphones.

This brings us to the question – why is the US Vice President not moving with current trends and using bluetooth headphones? Well, a report by Politico has now claimed that this is a conscious choice on the part of VP Kamala Harris, who is very careful when it comes to technology and security.

Are Bluetooth headphones not secure?

Experts are of the view that choosing not to use bluetooth headphones might be a good decision by the VP. Cybersecurity experts have opined that hacking is possible for bluetooth connections, and cybercriminals are capable of taking control of a device by hacking a bluetooth connection. They can then install malicious codes and can listen to conversations.

Citizen Labs senior researcher John Scott Railton in a tweet said that Harris was smart and aware of the risks. “By keeping Bluetooth OFF Kamala is reducing a host of risks, including close-access attacks against her handset, Bluetooth tracking and all sorts of signals collection, etc.” He also shared NSA’s handy guide published in July this year. The guide also lists the threats that can be prevented by switching off Bluetooth. It states that if Bluetooth has been enabled in public, then malicious actors can scan for active signals, and potentially access information about the device.

Bluetooth should also not be used for sharing passwords or other sensitive information, NSA said.

Therefore, considering the high position that Harris holds, it makes sense that she would be wary of the technology and choose to not use Bluetooth (if that is in fact the reason she is not using wireless headphones. It is entirely possible that her Bluetooth is on but she just does not use Bluetooth headphones).

For the common public as well, those who are paranoid can choose to keep their Bluetooth off for good measure.