Researchers with suitcase

Luca Carettoni (left) and Claudio Merloni are security consultants at Milan, Italy-based Secure Network. The two created the BlueBag to raise awareness about the potential of attacks against Bluetooth-enabled devices, they said in an interview at the Black Hat security event in Las Vegas.

The BlueBag is a roll-aboard suitcase filled with hardware. That gear is loaded with software to scan for Bluetooth devices and launch attacks against those, the two men said.

"We started evaluating how Bluetooth technology was spread in a metropolitan area," Carettoni said. "We went around airports, offices and shopping malls and realized that a covered bag can be used quite effectively for malicious purposes."

August 3, 2006 5:27 PM PDT

Photo by: Joris Evers/CNET News.com