Experts ​alerted motor trade to security risks of ‘smart key’ systems which have now fuelled highest level of car thefts for a decade

Experts ​alerted motor trade to security risks of ‘smart key’ systems which have now fuelled highest level of car thefts for a decade.

  • @[email protected]English
    10•4 months ago

    For garage doors… Yeah, it’s been a thing

    Because you can sit something there, monitor the rolling codes, then inject so it has a real one.

    For a car, you have to follow them around while they lock/unlock repeatedly. And that’s only if people are using the button and not proximity. If they’re just using proximity, you’re going to have to be standing right next to them.

    • krellor
      8•4 months ago

      I think most of the wireless attacks aren’t trying to be so sophisticated. They target cars parked at home and use a relay attack that uses a repeater antenna to rebroadcast the signal from the car to the fob inside and vice versa, tricking the car into thinking the fob is nearby. Canada has seen a large spike in this kind of attack. Faraday pouches that you put the fob inside of at home mitigates the attack.

        • krellor
          5•4 months ago

          Yeah. Shockingly people store things where it is convenient to have them. :) I’m glad I didn’t have a keyless system to with about.

          • @[email protected]English
            1•4 months ago

            I’m just banking on my car being the least fancy in my complex ;-)

            Keyless entry sounds stupid and I’ve totally mocked people for being “to lazy to turn a key.” But pushbutton start makes my slow little Subaru feel like a race car :-)

            • @[email protected]English
              1•4 months ago

              By keyless entry they don’t mean key fobs with buttons you press to unlock. They mean key fobs on cars with a proximity sensor where you can open the door without taking the key out of your pocket.

        • 𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒏English
          3•4 months ago

          Relay attacks don’t need the key to be in close proximity, they can be read from almost anywhere in the house if they aren’t in a faraday pouch or microwave. Have you seen the size of the antennas these attacks use?

          • @[email protected]English
            1•4 months ago

            I’ve seen a few low res clips over the years… one did use a yagi (Christmas tree looking one?). I’m sure it’s possible, but I don’t think it’s actually a given. I’m not even expert adjacent on this one though 😅

            • 𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒏English
              1•4 months ago

              The more recent ones I’ve seen are pretty funny. It’s usually two people with a relay kit: one carrying a massive flexible loop antenna, posing like a starfish walking around the front of the property, and the other beside the vehicle with a wireless keyfob emulator.

              Sadly not so funny for the car owners though, AFAIK the vehicles usually end up being broken down into parts. In Canada it’s a little different, they seem to be immediately driven to a port and loaded onto a ship for export.

              I don’t believe this is possible on older cars though, just ones with keyless start. Except if you have a US-spec Kia… where you literally just rip out the lock cylinder and use a USB cable to turn the engine start switch, although I believe they’ve fitted immobilizers to those now