High Tech Thieves Use Laptops to Steal Cars

Interesting article from Forbes how car thieves are using laptops, transmitters, & software to crack the code of keyless entry systems.

there is nothing a theif won't do...

AMAZING!

DUU... if there is a way that you can get into a car without a key... (keypad, card, wireless transmition.etc..), there is NO reason why someone cant hack it.

Oh well.. I will continue buying cars with keys

-tom

Oh great, and they want to put RFID tags into U.S. passports???

It'll be the day when a 1964 Ford Falcon is the most secure vehicle you can get...

Like picking a lock that uses a skeleton key: Who has that type of obsolete gear for thieving??

I was amazed the first time I saw one of the home made devices that hooked to a palm pilot and would open any electronic hotel door lock in less than 15 seconds.

meep, it happen in malaysia few months ago where thieves record sound of the remote control of the car and then using computers/laptops to open up the car!!!

singaporeans as main target as we treat our cars like our life.

I love these quotes. They make it sound like everything is fine. but.....

"In practicality, consumers are as safe today as they were yesterday," Allen said.

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What he's saying is that they were never secure, but now that you know it they are no worse

n order for thieves to get access to the numbers, they first must get within several inches of the key with a receiver.

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As if no one ever has to stand in line. BTW, 2 foot away from a key is "inches" away. The better the antenna and booster the further it can be.

from TI said:

"a complex thing and not something that can be done easily."

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It does not have to be easy as long as it can be mechanized. Most hackers simply use tools built by other, more talented people.


The reallity is this: all cars, safes and locks have at least one known vulnerabilty. This allows the locksmith, safe expert or car dealer to handle the problem caused by lost keys and combinations. Sometimes you have to know where to drill, sometimes you need to know where to stick a long, strangely bent stick. Sometimes you have to know which pins to short or apply voltage to.

No car ever built has been theft proof.

Daniel

High Tech devices have brought a whole new meaning to insecurity. How many people leave the blue tooth on in their cell phones. I've seen demonstrations of people getting all the info out of a blue tooth enabled phone with a sniper antenna from over 1 mile away. The signal strength was strong enough to actually use the target phone to make calls. One of the simple programs used to do this is called red fang. There are many better ones available out there too.

High Tech is great but you need to be aware of the dangers it brings with it.

Good point Daniel. Every key system in the world, mechanical or electronic, is based upon a tiny bit of hidden knowledge. It's just a matter of acquiring the appropriate knowledge for that particular lock. Unfortunately a lock can't differentiate between it's owner and a crook.

Thank goodness I drive a 1989 Whassamatta. Pretty low on the thieves' list of cars to steal.

Just be happy they can steal your car without damaging it...

If they want it, they'll take it anyway, better to have it undamaged... saves you a lot of trouble IF you ever get it back...