Keyless Entry Thefts

[malcolm]

There was an article in one of the sections of the UK's Sunday Times a few weeks back. It's available on subscription.

However, you can get the gist from the following forum thread

http://thealpinaregister.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=114546&sid=d092d3ad45dfdba5dcc6cd83c07711a9

Quick extract:

"Car makers have launched an investigation after a second security loophole involving keyless cars was exposed in just over a year. Police have found that
thieves can program a blank key fob in seconds using equipment sold online, then use it to drive the car away ...

...Briggs [Mike Briggs, vehicle security manager at Thatcham] began an investigation with the police and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) after a stolen car was recovered. Police found a fob they believe was made by "cloning", the technique thought to be behind a spate of BMW thefts in northeast London. BMW is aware of the issue and awaits Thatcham's findings...

..The SMMT believes keyless-vehicle thefts are on a small scale but cannot provide figures. Investigation findings should be out in mid-July"

(c) Sunday Times, author Dominic Tobin, 20th May 2012

Similar article

http://www.carbidoff.com/2012/07/are-bmws-the-easiest-cars-to-steal/


And a transcript of an article dated feb 11 (titled: Open sesame: the magic car thieves) which features a different technique of using a wireless relay back to the car

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?p=18402066

 

[VolkerP]

security architecture: The fob should hold several key sequences, one for opening the vehicle, one for making it drive. The latter only available when inside the car. catching the first sequence should not give access to the second.

And in what way is keyless entry different to pressing a button on a fob?

I'd like to hear details on the process of 'cloning', if it requires holding the original fob (hello valets?)

 

[hvb]

Wasn't this debunked on Snopes?
http://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/lockcode.asp

 

[rogbmw]

What is happening on some cars is that people are breaking the window, plugging into the OBDII port with a cloning device, and resetting a key for all functions. This is happening on some new BMWs. Hopefully TESLA will not have a OBDII port in an accessable place - who knows - they may not even need an OBDII port since there are no emissions!

 

[bonnie]

Wasn't this debunked on Snopes?
http://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/lockcode.asp

Thanks - and welcome to the forum!

 

[FlasherZ]

What is happening on some cars is that people are breaking the window, plugging into the OBDII port with a cloning device, and resetting a key for all functions. This is happening on some new BMWs. Hopefully TESLA will not have a OBDII port in an accessable place - who knows - they may not even need an OBDII port since there are no emissions!

BMW made it far too easy to program a new key; having the ability to program a key via OBD-II without any authentication whatsoever is the primary reason this is happening. BMW should have introduced some other requirements, such as the presence of the emergency key, or a car-specific code only available via BMW records, etc.