Cars of
these days come with keys embedded with a remote control feature called a
remote key fob.
It is used to either gain or restrict access to a vehicle
within a distance of about 20 feet between the vehicle and the key fob.I am very
sure minds like mine have often wondered if this lock can be hacked into. If
your remote lock is hacked by someone with sinister motives, of course the
outcome can be very disastrous. FHB is here to critically analyse this scenario.
A wireless device emits wireless signals at a certain frequency
to a device described as the receiver. This receiver is embedded with an
antenna and is programmed to operate at the same frequency as that which the
wireless device transmits so that it can receive the signals.
In the case of a
car, the key fob transmits the signal at a programmed frequency while the car
is embedded with an antenna that receives the signal at the same frequency. It should
also be noted that the lock system is also programmed with a rolling code by
the manufacturer such that this code changes each time a signal is emitted
between the fob and the car.
For the purpose of this write-up, we shall borrow a leaf from
the test carried out by Silvio Cesare. In this test, he used a ‘software
defined radio’ which is a device that can digitally emit or pick up a wide band
of frequencies from frequency modulated(FM) signals to Bluetooth signals to
Wi-fi signals. A laptop, an antenna and an amplifier were also used alongside this
radio. With these devices, he was able to transmit a signal at the same frequency
as that transmitted by the car key fob. Gaining access to a frequency the car
lock understands, he then was able to perform a “brute force” attack which is simply a process of cycling through
thousands of code guesses till he found the one that successfully unlocked the
car. The duration of this hack varies, depending on how complex the rolling
code of the lock system of the car is. It may vary from minutes to even hours.
If you feel a little disappointed, please know no technology
is entirely water-proof. Manufacturers just keep thinking up ways to reduce
instances of failure. We at FHB just decided to bring to your consciousness
this “tech-Tuesday” this fact and so the next time you may decide to park your
car and flaunt that swagged-up remote lock, do ensure you are comfortable with
the surrounding and do not let your guard down. Feel free to drop your comments
and contributions.
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