Is Your Car On The List? Testers Gain Access To 19 Brands Of Vehicles With Simple Hack

Owners of cars with keyless technology are being warned to stay more vigilant after German vehicle experts showed thieves could bypass the central locking and start the engine of 24 different cars and vans with an ‘easily built’ electronic device.

The German automotive organization ADAC - the German equivalent to organizations like the AA - tested 24 different vehicles with keyless technology from 19 different manufacturers like Audi and SsangYong, and found every single one could be broken into using a simple homemade electronic device.

Keyless technology allows drivers to enter and start their vehicle without using the key – the car using sensors to communicate with the key in proximity and authorize start-up. A feature commonly found in premium makes like BMW and Audi, it’s slowly trickling down to more mainstream brands, and even vans like the Renault Trafic now feature the technology. 

 

MDarringer - 3/21/2016 10:38:24 AM

-5 Boost

None of my current cars are on the list, but I have to wonder how vulnerable other cars are. I would assume the technology is quite similar across brands that employ it, thus the threat is probably more widespread.

atc98092 - 3/21/2016 3:48:14 PM

+1 Boost

There's virtually no reason this is not possible on any car with remote access. This includes the Asian and US built cars as well. They've simply created a small repeater that operates on the same frequency as your key fob and car system. About the only way I could think of blocking this would be two separate sensors on the car and fob that operate on significantly different frequencies. Even then, they could still come up with a repeater for both frequencies. It just becomes more complicated to ensure they don't interfere with each other.

The only way to fully defeat it is to keep your key fob in a Faraday cage while away from the car. Wrapping it in tin foil would accomplish the same thing. Of course, you have to unwrap it before you can use it yourself.

MDarringer - 3/21/2016 5:07:43 PM

-7 Boost

Actually, garage door remotes change the codes so fixing this will not require a Faraday cage