Car Theft Is Much Simpler Especially If Your Car Is Equipped With Keyless Entry
Car thefts are common phenomena across the globe. Thousands of cars are reported stolen every year across the United States and other European countries. As the registration process is very strict in these countries, the stolen vehicles can’t come easily on the road. Primarily these are sold to junkyards where they are disassembled for spare parts. Some reports suggest that these groups can make more money by selling the car in parts rather than selling it as a whole.
Besides this, some highly professional car theft groups are active all across the world, and their mode of operation is different. They steal cars, mostly high-end luxury cars, put them into shipping containers and send them outside the country to another destination where they’re sold. Cross-border groups work in conjunction with each other to make this happen. In some cases, a customer in another country reaches out to the representative of a certain group in the target country and request a certain car or even a certain model. Then the operational unit of this group locates that particular car, steal and ship it to the customer. Every year there are reports from all over the world where a police raid on shipping ports result in the discovery of stolen cars worth millions of dollars.
Car manufacturers are makings all necessary systems and putting technology in place to keep cars safe from theft. Law enforcement agencies along with insurance companies are also investing in research and development to evaluate vulnerabilities, but this does not stop the carjackers from coming up with newer ways of car theft. In a nutshell, if car security is getting sophisticated, the mode of car theft is also becoming more high tech.
Key-less entry and push-button start is a convenience feature which is getting popular recently. In most cases, you don’t need to push a button on your key to open your car door or insert a key in the ignition to start the vehicle. As long as you have the smart key/ KEY FOB with you in your pocket or bag, the car door will unlock as soon as you hold the door handle. You can then push the engine start button, and the vehicle will start.
We will not go into complicated details of how the system works and will keep it simple for our readers. The main basic components and function of Keyless entry consist of a KEY FOB while a proximity sensor in car door handles and in steering column area. These sensors receive a radio signal sent from the KEY FOB and relay it to the main control module. When the predetermined entry codes are received by the module, the car automatically unlocks the door and eventually gives access to the car and allows the engine to operate as well.
Since last few years law enforcement and insurance agencies were puzzled by an alarming rate of cars being stolen in Europe and the United States. All sorts of cars were stolen regardless of make and model. Most of the times high-end luxury cars were the target although all these cars were equipped with immobilizer and security systems. There was no symmetry in all these thefts except that in all such cases the cars had key-less entry system and the actual KEY FOB was with the actual owners, and the cars were locked and secured. In most of the cases, the cars were stolen from owners own driveways.
Then one such theft was caught on CCTV camera, and law enforcement agencies were stunned after analyzing the clips. The thieves took away the vehicle within seconds without breaking into the car. All they did was using some sort of a device which the law enforcement agencies started calling “Mystery Device”. The car theft scenes from the famous movie “Gone in 60 seconds” seem too long for these real-life car thefts.
Extensive research later concluded that carjackers are using a very simple procedure using sophisticated equipment. Researchers called it a “SARA “; short for Signal Amplification Relay Attack. You can call it hacking the car’s key-less system.
To successfully complete the crime, it needs at least two individuals. The equipment used to commit this crime consists of two parts. One individual uses a Transceiver, a device which can receive a signal and amplify the same signal and then transmit it further. The other part is a receiver which receives this radio frequency.
One individual with the receiver stands next to the front door of the car and mostly the driver side door. The other partner in crime takes the Transceiver and start moving along the home in search of the signal from the KEY FOB, placed somewhere inside the home.
After recovering the successful signal, it then transmits it to the receiver. The receiver being next to the door then unlocks the door. The individual with the receiver enters the car while the Transceiver still sending over the amplified RF signal from the KEY FOB. Next thing the individual starts the car and they are gone. All this happens within seconds without the original and physical KEY FOB and just by tricking the car security system.
As relay attack works on the principle of radio signal amplification and transmission, protecting KEY FOB would be your first and most important action. Security experts believe that the signal can be amplified up to 300 feet away from the real KEY FOB.
Keep your KEY FOB away from doors and windows. Many of us keep it hanging on the wall just next to our entry doors. It’s best to keep them secured and away from home entry points. RFID protecting pouches are available in the market, and one must invest in one such protection measures, and it does not cost a lot of money. Its recommended that you keep your KEY FOB in that pouch even when you are outside your home, in a mall, restaurant or shopping.
Till the time you don’t have RFID protection, you can wrap your KEY FOB with few layers of aluminium foil as it will somewhat stop the signal penetration although you have to remove the key out of foil or RFID pouch to get access to your car. Experts also recommend using good quality steering locks which physically can stop the thief from taking over your vehicle.
The relay attack is now a reality, and thousands of cars are reported stolen overseas. The experts are highly concerned because according to them these devices can be made very cheaply with components easily available in the market. Some high tech criminal groups are using very advanced equipment which they have developed with the help of underground hackers. They are selling these kits to carjacking teams at a very high price.
According to international insurance data, the thefts have increased many folds in the last couple of years, and law enforcement agencies are warning car owners to take simple measures to protect their vehicles, while car companies and security experts are working to develop deterrence against such criminal activities.
Although we have no data on such thefts in Pakistan, it seems like it is just a matter of time before car thieves wisen up and adopt the methods of car thieves in the rest of the world. It is, therefore, high time for car owners, especially those with keyless entry systems to take cognisance of the matter and protect their cars better.
