Data sniffing over an open VLC channel

Abstract

The feasibility of using Visible Light Communications (VLC) technology is a reality nowadays. As this technology is being inserted into the mass market, deliberation about the security provided by this technology, which is one of their main selling points, should be taken into consideration. In this paper, different scenarios of VLC sniffing are studied. A physical experiment in laboratory conditions was performed to demonstrate that, without other supported security elements, as cryptography, VLC sniffing is not only a possible but a probable attack. This type of attack could also be exploited in more complex attacks such as Spoofing and Man-in-the-Middle.