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Car Hackers Target Keyless Entry Systems

Researchers at the University of Birmingham found that a majority of the 100 million Volkswagen vehicles sold in the last decade, most with keyless entry systems, are vulnerable to vehicle break-ins and theft.

Car hackers can use cheap, easily available radio hardware to intercept signals from a key fob and then use those signals to “clone” the key. The research also found hacking vulnerabilities in a system used by other vehicle manufacturers, including Chevrolet, Ford and Renault.

The German automobile club ADAC announced results from a study testing a hack that extended the range of wireless key fobs. A key fob that would typically communicate with its car from just a few feet away could, when hacked, activate the unlocking system or ignition and enable a thief to open the vehicle and drive away in seconds.

The ADAC researchers said that 24 different vehicles from 19 different manufacturers are vulnerable, allowing them to not only “reliably unlock the vehicles but also immediately drive them away.”

This same technology can also be used to unlock garage doors equipped with wireless remotes. The device is hidden near a target vehicle or garage and waits for the vehicle owner to use his or her garage remote within radio range. The victim will notice that the remote doesn’t work on the first try, but after a second successful button push, the garage door unlocks. The thief can return at any time to retrieve the device, press a small button on it and replay an intercepted code from the homeowner’s garage door remote to gain access into the garage.

One AAA spokesperson told USA Today that putting wireless key fobs and garage door remotes inside a microwave, freezer or refrigerator would block the intercept signals that open a vehicle or garage door. He also recommended wrapping them in aluminum foil.

“Manufacturers need to build defenses into their wireless key fobs, such as timing constraints that could catch the long-range attacks,” said ADAC Researcher Arnulf Thiemel. Remote garage door manufacturers may want to consider the same defenses.