Apple admits Kamala Harris’ wariness about AirPods justified

Tech giant says it’s correcting a flaw that hackers could use to gain access to users’ wireless headphones

By DesiMax Wire

Tech giant Apple has acknowledged that Indian American Vice President Kamala Harris was right to be concerned about the vulnerability of its AirPods wireless headphones to hackers.

Apple’s acknowledgment came years after Harris became the subject of snide remarks in Washington during her first months in office for sticking with the old-fashioned wired headphones, the Washington Times reported.

But Cupertino, California-based Apple said on Tuesday it was correcting a flaw that hackers could use to gain access to users’ AirPods headphones that rely on wireless Bluetooth connectivity.

“When your headphones are seeking a connection request to one of your previously paired devices, an attacker in Bluetooth range might be able to spoof the intended source device and gain access to your headphones,” Apple said on its website.

The company published a fix for the problem that Apple said will be automatically delivered to people’s AirPods when they are paired and within Bluetooth range of an iPhone or other Apple device.

Apple’s latest update is far from the first time it has been forced to admit hackers can eavesdrop on people using its AirPods devices, the Times noted.

In April 2023, Apple issued an identical advisory to this week’s alert and warned of a similar vulnerability in AirPods. The following month, Apple released another security update for more wireless headphones.

The vice president’s security habits and aversion to Apple’s AirPods products made her the subject of mockery during her first year in the White House, the Times stated.

In 2021, Politico depicted her as a Luddite for using wired headphones instead of AirPods like her husband, who the publication said had used AirPods for years without anxiety.

“Should someone who travels with the nuclear football be spending time untangling her headphone wires?” the publication was quoted as saying.

Politico labeled her “Bluetooth-phobic” and cataloged several times she opted for wires, prompting outrage on social media from Harris’ defenders and others who shared Harris’ skepticism over the security of Apple’s tech.

Asked by the San Francisco Chronicle about the public debate raging over her headphone usage in December 2021, Harris responded, “Really?” the Times recalled.