Find My Network Exploited to Send Messages

An exploit allows messages and additional data to be sent across Apple's Find My network, according to the findings of a security researcher.

apple findmy network feature
Security researcher Fabian Bräunlein has found a way to leverage Apple's ‌Find My‌ network to function as a generic data transfer mechanism, allowing non-internet-connected devices to upload arbitrary data by using nearby Apple devices to upload the data for them.

The ‌Find My‌ network uses the entire base of active iOS devices to act as nodes to transfer location data. Bräunlein explained in an extensive blog post that it is possible to emulate the way in which an AirTag connects to the ‌Find My‌ network and broadcasts its location. The ‌AirTag‌ sends its location via an encrypted broadcast, so when this data is replaced with a message, it is concealed by the broadcast's encryption.

find my network message exploit
Bräunlein's practical demonstration showed how short strings of text could be sent from a microcontroller running custom firmware over the ‌Find My‌ network. The text was received via a custom Mac app to decode and display the uploaded data.

It is not immediately clear if this ‌Find My‌ network exploit could be used maliciously or what useful purposes it may serve. Nonetheless, it seems that it could be difficult for Apple to prevent this unintended use due to the privacy-focused and end-to-end encrypted nature of the system.

For more information, see Bräunlein's full blog post, which explains in detail the entire technical process behind passing arbitrary data through the ‌Find My‌ network.

Popular Stories

apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Expected Later This Year With These New Features

Saturday July 12, 2025 3:09 pm PDT by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Rumors Faster Wi-Fi Support The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports ...
iphone 16 pro ghost hand

5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

Thursday July 10, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3: What to Expect

Sunday July 13, 2025 10:30 am PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is nearly over, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the Apple Watch Ultra 3:Satellite connectivity for sending and receiving text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable 5G support, up from LTE on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Likely a wide-angle OLED display that ...
iphone 16 pro pro max

iPhone 17 Pro Models With BOE Displays Will Be Sold in China Only

Thursday July 10, 2025 11:59 pm PDT by
iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models with displays made by BOE will be sold exclusively in China, according to a new report. Last week, it emerged that Chinese display manufacturer BOE was aggressively ramping up its OLED production capacity for future iPhone models as part of a plan to recapture a major role in Apple's supply chain. Now, tech news aggregator Jukan Choi reports...
top stories 2025 07 12

Top Stories: iPhone 17 Pro Rumors, iOS 26 Beta 3, and More

Saturday July 12, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
The iOS 26 public beta release is quickly approaching, while developers have recently gotten their hands on a third round of betas that has seen Apple continue to tweak features, design, and functionality. We're also continuing to hear rumors about the iPhone 17 lineup that is now just about right around the corner, while Apple's latest big-budget film appears to be taking off, so read on...

Top Rated Comments

zepfhyr Avatar
55 months ago
The first thought that comes to mind is someone installing a compromised IoT device that gains legitimate access to their network and then uses the Find My network to funnel data out of the network, bypassing any firewall rules that prevent the IoT device from communicating with the Internet at large.

It's the type of thing you'd see in a heist or spy movie to try and snag someone's password.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Unregistered 4U Avatar
55 months ago
Another
“IF YOU SET EVERYTHING UP JUUUUUUUUUST RIGHT, YOU CAN DO A THING!” from a security researcher. AirTags is the security gift that keeps on giving.
Next week,
“We’ve been able to determine that if you accelerate an AirTag at just the right speed towards a target that’s not trying to dodge and is totally aware and ok that you’re throwing it (though accelerate sounds cooler) YOU MAY BE ABLE TO HIT THEM!”
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ArtOfWarfare Avatar
55 months ago
This could be used for some kind of Denial of Service Attack, couldn't it?

You set up a server that's just spamming the Find My network, then all the Apple devices are constantly bouncing these spam messages around. They may end up drowning out legitimate Find My network messages.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
no_idea Avatar
55 months ago
Waiting for someone to show a hack that executed the following steps:
1) uses forgot password
2) clicks try another device for access code pin
3) has a hamster run in a wheel to disrupt radio waves transmitting the secret pin
4) said wheel traps the secret pin and translated via a sudoku puzzle to the hacker
5) hacker inlists a millennial to decrypt the puzzle
6) millennial asks for gluten free juice cleanser for payment
7) hacker gets in!
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TiggrToo Avatar
55 months ago

This could be used for some kind of Denial of Service Attack, couldn't it?

You set up a server that's just spamming the Find My network, then all the Apple devices are constantly bouncing these spam messages around. They may end up drowning out legitimate Find My network messages.
From the source:


With the public key validity check implemented, everything worked flawlessly. While I didn't do extensive performance testing and measurements, here are some estimates:

The sending rate on the microcontroller is currently ~3 bytes/second. Higher speeds could be achieved e.g. simply by caching the encoding results or by encoding one byte per advertisement
In my tests, the receiving rate was limited by slow Mac hardware. Retrieving 16 bytes within one request takes ~5 seconds
The latency is usually between 1 and 60 minutes depending on how many devices are around and other random factors.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
centauratlas Avatar
55 months ago
This is awesome (assuming it can't be badly exploited). It gives an ad hoc wireless relay network. There could be plenty of uses.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)