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.

  • krellor
    8•10 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•10 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•10 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•10 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•10 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•10 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•10 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