A Swiss team just found out that thieves could steal your car without using an actual key or even breaking and entering. Cryptographic systems and computer protocols used to protect vehicles featuring keyless entry may have a number of shortcomings.
The researchers examined 10 car models from eight manufacturers. They were able to access all 10 and drive them away by intercepting and relaying signals from the cars to their wireless keys.
Normally, when a wireless key is within a few metres of the right car, a low-powered signal enables keyless door unlocking and engine start. The scientists used a pair of antennas to transmit these signals from the car to the key even though the latter found itself way outside the required radius. One antenna needs to be very close to the car and another one needs to be within eight metres of the key in order to access and steal the car.
The researchers came up with two relatively low-cost theft scenarios. The materials for the wired attack cost about $50 and those for the wireless attack cost between $100 and $1,000, depending on the electronic components used.
In the first scenario, a car owner might leave his or her key near a window. An antenna placed outside the house was able to communicate with the key, allowing the researchers to start the car parked out front and drive away.
In the second scenario, a thief could survey a parking lot and have an accomplice watch as car owners entered a nearby store. The accomplice would only need to be within eight metres of the targeted owner's key fob, making it easy to avoid arousing suspicion.
Obviously, the goal of the research is not to encourage car thieves but rather to help automakers devise a solution to improve future security systems.
David Wagner, a professor of computer science at the University of California in Berkeley, says that ''a nasty aspect of high-tech car theft is that it doesn't leave any sign of forced entry," so it becomes hard for police and insurance companies to get sufficient evidence of what happened. He believes that all the parties involved need to prepare for this eventuality.
Source : Technology Review
The researchers examined 10 car models from eight manufacturers. They were able to access all 10 and drive them away by intercepting and relaying signals from the cars to their wireless keys.
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| Photo: Matthieu Lambert/Auto123.com |
Normally, when a wireless key is within a few metres of the right car, a low-powered signal enables keyless door unlocking and engine start. The scientists used a pair of antennas to transmit these signals from the car to the key even though the latter found itself way outside the required radius. One antenna needs to be very close to the car and another one needs to be within eight metres of the key in order to access and steal the car.
The researchers came up with two relatively low-cost theft scenarios. The materials for the wired attack cost about $50 and those for the wireless attack cost between $100 and $1,000, depending on the electronic components used.
In the first scenario, a car owner might leave his or her key near a window. An antenna placed outside the house was able to communicate with the key, allowing the researchers to start the car parked out front and drive away.
In the second scenario, a thief could survey a parking lot and have an accomplice watch as car owners entered a nearby store. The accomplice would only need to be within eight metres of the targeted owner's key fob, making it easy to avoid arousing suspicion.
Obviously, the goal of the research is not to encourage car thieves but rather to help automakers devise a solution to improve future security systems.
David Wagner, a professor of computer science at the University of California in Berkeley, says that ''a nasty aspect of high-tech car theft is that it doesn't leave any sign of forced entry," so it becomes hard for police and insurance companies to get sufficient evidence of what happened. He believes that all the parties involved need to prepare for this eventuality.
Source : Technology Review