A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves

3 years ago by agilob to c/security

Skyrocketing vehicle theft rates in some U.S. cities have drawn attention to an inconvenient truth: the increasing amount of technology in our vehicles can make them increasingly vulnerable to hacking or theft.

malloc 4 points 3 years ago

The best way to "foil car thieves" is to drive a junker vehicle. Nobody is going to waste their time and potential jail time stealing a car worth less than $1000 USD in parts, unless they really just want to fuck with you.

Also never drive a Hyundai. South Korean auto manufacturers are the absolute worst.

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Isoprenoid 4 points 3 years ago

There is no evidence suggesting older vehicles are less likely to be stolen.

Junker vehicles may be more likely to be stolen because they are easier to steal. This is usually because they have less and/ or poor security features. Older vehicles can be favoured targets because their parts are more valuable due to their scarcity because they are out of production.

https://rucore.libraries.rutgers.edu/...

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Oka 3 points 3 years ago

This seems flawed. If the hacker knows that there is one of these devices, and they already have access to the driver's seat, they could pop the hood and recircuit the red wire.

A better idea is if your keyfob used a regenerating code. Current vehicles use the same code every time. And this device does as well.

When your car turns on, it would send a new code to your fob. If the fob returns that code the next time the car is started, it starts normally and a new code is generated. This code is also the one responsible for door locks, etc.

In order for a hacker to obtain the correct code, they have to be near the car when the car is started, then have to go with the car to its destination. Each time the car is started, the password changes.

If a fob gets out of sync, the fob and car can be reset at a dealership.

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Pyro 2 points 3 years ago

I think with a regenerating code, there needs to be an easier way to deal with the fob getting out of sync. It would be pretty annoying to miss the fob hit and then have your vehicle become unusable.

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corristo 1 point 3 years ago

The way @Oka described it the fob would only change the code if the car sends a new code. So if you're out of range the fob would send the same code again on the next press.

However, if the dealership can reset the fob and car then in due time so will any criminal, either by acquiring the necessary hard- and software from a dealership going out of business or someone reverse-engineering it.

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ccunix 1 point 3 years ago

How do you deal with 2 key fobs?

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hairyballs 2 points 3 years ago

I have a much better plan: I live in a country where cars ain't stolen

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jadero 2 points 3 years ago

Almost like port knocking.

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