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Some of the UK's newest and most popular cars are at risk of being stolen in seconds by exploiting weaknesses in keyless entry systems. The systems let drivers open and start their cars without taking their key out of their pocket. A DS 3 Crossback and Audi TT RS were taken in 10 seconds, and a Land Rover Discovery Sport TD4 180 HSE in 30.
What Car? security experts performed the tests using the same specialist technology operated by thieves. They measured the time it took to get into the cars and drive them away.
Car theft rates in England and Wales have reached an eight-year high. In 2018, more than 106,000 vehicles were stolen. And motor theft insurance claim payouts hit their highest level in seven years at the start of 2019.
The Association of British Insurers said claims for January to March were higher than for any quarter since 2012.
It said a rise in keyless car crime was partly to blame, but did not have figures on what proportion of claims were for keyless vehicles.
Previously:
Volkswagen Finally Agrees to Publication Of Vulnerability Paper, After Removal of One Sentence
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 08 2019, @11:46PM (21 children)
Remember the club? There is one my garage,
It's what insurance is for.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 09 2019, @12:13AM (3 children)
A (pressurized) can of cheeze-wiz injected into the keyhole of The Club will unlock it in 2 seconds.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 09 2019, @02:20AM (2 children)
My google-foo failed, have you got a reference for use of Cheez-Wiz in lockpicking? We played with things like this for fun (not profit) in college, but this is news to me.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 09 2019, @03:37AM (1 child)
Car repo guy told me that. I was a tech for 30 years, I heard lots of stories. Tool trucks sold universal keys for removing locking gas caps, which also worked well on toolboxes and GM single tumbler locks. There were some 1960's GM cars you could unlock by slamming the door with your fist right below the latch.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 09 2019, @07:22PM
Replying to my own reply. We had an older truck stolen off our parking lot. The car thief bought a $6 ignition switch from the auto parts store down the street, opened the door, reached under the dash, unplugged the old switch, plugged in the new one and drove off. Luckily it ran out of gas 1/2 mile away.
(Score: 2) by driverless on Friday August 09 2019, @12:42AM (2 children)
Those are actually relatively easy to remove, the face is hardened but the back isn't so you can drill it out in about 30s. If the owner thinks they'll improve security by putting it so the lock is facing in towards the steering wheel it's even easier.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 09 2019, @03:00AM (1 child)
saw parts of the steering wheel away to pop the club off
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 09 2019, @09:37AM
The point of these devices is no different from a bike lock. It's not to prevent theft. It's to make the theft harder. More time. More likely to be caught. More noise. Extra tools - like a hacksaw or clippers to be caught with.
Thieves will generally move on to easier targets.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday August 09 2019, @12:52AM (8 children)
I came to say something very similar. I've locked my keys in the car, in the past. And, I've helped other people who have locked their keys in their cars. I'm a very amateurish car thief, without much practice, but I've entered some cars within a minute or two. Others, took more time, because I had to study the situation, and figure out how to perform the task without damaging the vehicle. Real car thieves don't have that consideration, so they just get to the nitty gritty without any worries.
And, I've got to ask - doesn't the old reliable Slim Jim work on today's cars? I've an idea that all of those electronic door locks can be bypassed with Ye Olde Mechanical Door Shim.
Of course, entering the vehicle isn't going to get the vehicle started. All of my breaking and entering experience has been based on the fact that there is a set of keys already inside of the vehicle. Old car, or new, hotwiring the car is something I would have to spend a lot more time on. A 1960's vehicle will obviously be a lot simpler than a 1990's, which is probably simpler than anything using wireless entry and digitally signed keys. Or, maybe it isn't. Once you pop the ignition switch out of the steering column, you probably have the same basic wiring to contend with.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday August 09 2019, @12:57AM (1 child)
Oh, I've forgotten something about modern car thieves. They're carrying a smart phone most likely.
"Siri, how do you hotwire a 2016 Toyota Celica?" In a moment or six, Siri tells you exactly how it's done. Not much studying, on the car thief's part, huh?
(Score: 4, Funny) by istartedi on Friday August 09 2019, @01:16AM
I'm imagining, "Bite my ass, Jack. I'm not going to jail for you" in Siri's voice.
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 09 2019, @02:55AM
Starting a contemporary car can only happen with the enthusiastic consent of the computer systems. Look up "immobilizers".
If only the car companies used solid widely reviewed crypto instead of security by obscurity, car thefts would switch to crooks bribing crooked dealer for duplicate keys.
(Score: 2) by sjames on Friday August 09 2019, @03:23AM (3 children)
It varies a lot. In the '80s, you really could start a car without the key more or less like in the Terminator (Disclaimer, I have never stolen a car, I tested that on my own car when the ignition lock failed).
The cars TFA is talking about just have the start button and a transponder in a keyfob, no key. You can't hotwire it because the ECU won't let the engine run without talking to the keyfob even if you connect power and cause the starter to turn. Alas, the auto industry managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. It turns out you can simply relay the signal between car and fob so that while the owners key is on the dresser the car thinks it's in the car and you can just press start and go. (same setup unlocks the door). You look EXACTLY like a legitimate owner getting in to the car and driving away. Drive it onto a flatbed before your relay goes out of range.
From there, either re-program the ECU or strip the car for (very expensive) parts.
So I suppose the modern system is MUCH easier (or at least much less risky, depending on how you want to look at it) but you have to go high tech to do it at all.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 09 2019, @05:12AM
Automakers are not system designers of crypto auth. They just mindlessly use chips that Atmel and Co. are equally mindlessly making. Nobody is looking at the big picture - except thieves, that is.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 09 2019, @05:00PM (1 child)
Once the car is started, it continues to run, even if you are out of range of the key fob. Most cars will beep a little bit indicating such.
My wife did this one time. Started the car, removed her purse and drive away. The beeps didn't really register as very important at the time. She got to her destination, and shut off the car. When she tried to lock the car, she realized what happened.
Maybe carmakers should put something on the in-dash display saying "You forgot your key dumbass!" It might be more obvious than a couple beeps.
(Score: 2) by sjames on Friday August 09 2019, @07:11PM
That is, all at the same time funny, obnoxious, and worse than I thought. That makes stealing the car WAY too easy.
I would say the car should have gone into full panic as soon as the fob went out of range, honking horn, flashing lights, engine shutoff (if not under acceleration).
Considering that radio probably isn't exact enough to distinguish in the car from ON the car, there will probably be a lot of problems like that.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 09 2019, @10:03AM
A couple of decades ago while visiting a uni in another state I saw someone trying to get into her car. The keys were in the ignition. It looks like like my bucket of bolts. I asked if I could try my key. It worked! To unlock the door, anyway. It wouldn't start the engine.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 09 2019, @02:21AM (4 children)
Reading the European press, car theft seems much more of an issue over there, because Polish gangs would have moved a car to Poland by nightfall, and from there to the rest of Eastern Europe, where Western laws are unenforceable.
If your premia for insurance against theft therefore are much higher, individuals will put more effort into investing in more protection.
Though I wonder who buys the hot cars from Britain with the wheel on the right. Do they get loaded into containers and sent to the mideast or Africa?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 09 2019, @02:48AM (1 child)
Russia, my guess; if you have money for a hot car, you have money to get approval to drive it even if the driving wheel is stuck on the roof.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 09 2019, @05:16AM
(Score: 1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 09 2019, @07:38AM
Parts, old chap, parts of hot cars...a container/truck filled with 'scrap metal' isn't going to be subjected to the same level of scrutiny as one filled with cars..
Funny you should mention the Poles though...that's one thing you won't see the mainstream UK media mutter, as they're not allowed to point out the increase in the numbers of certain crimes tallies with the increase in the numbers of valuable contributers to our wonderful diverse society from eastern climes...no doubt one of the Mr 'correlation-isn't-causation' brigade will now butt in with the usual mantra..
Mind you, the Poles, on the whole, are the best of the sorry bunch...the worst for 'petty crime' being the Roma, for 'organised crime' the Albanians, followed by the Ukrainians and the rest..
And don't start me on the 'poor Iraqi and Syrian refugees who lost everything sob sob boo hoo' who've been given council/social housing and who're driving around in brand new 4WD cars..let's not point out that there's been an increase in the amount of dodgy heroin on the market since this lot were allowed in....
It's not as if we had such a shortage of skilled indigenous crooks that we really, really needed to import more of the cunts.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 09 2019, @10:07AM
Polish gangs? You mean muslim gangs.