Information
By showing the Bluetooth status in the menu bar, a small Bluetooth icon is placed in the menu bar. This icon quickly shows the status of Bluetooth, and can allow the user to quickly turn Bluetooth on or off.
Rationale:
Enabling 'Show Bluetooth status in menu bar' is a security awareness method that helps understand the current state of Bluetooth, including whether it is enabled, discoverable, what paired devices exist, and what paired devices are currently active.
Impact:
Bluetooth is a useful wireless tool that has been widely exploited when configured improperly. The user should have insight into the Bluetooth status.
Solution
Graphical Method:
Perform the following steps to enable Bluetooth status in the menu bar:
Open System Preferences
Select Bluetooth
Set Show Bluetooth in menu bar to enabled
Terminal Method:
For each user, run the following command to enable Bluetooth status in the menu bar:
$ /usr/bin/sudo -u <username> /usr/bin/defaults write /Users/<username>/Library/Preferences/com.apple.systemuiserver menuExtras -array-add '/System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/Bluetooth.menu'
example:
$ /usr/bin/sudo -u firstuser /usr/bin/defaults write /Users/firstuser/Library/Preferences/com.apple.systemuiserver menuExtras -array-add '/System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/Bluetooth.menu'
Note: If the remediation is run multiple times, multiple instances of the Bluetooth status will appear after rebooting the system. Command-click and drag the unwanted icons off the menu bar.