.gif)
Car thieves are using a
small electronic device to unlock car doors and even to start car engines
without the car's keys.
If your vehicle has a
start-stop button for the engine ignition, you could be just as vulnerable.
The National Insurance
Crime Bureau released a report regarding a mysterious device that car thieves
are using to break into locked vehicles easily without any drama.
The device “most likely
a Relay Attack Unit”, as investigated and discovered by NICB, comes in two
parts. The first, picks up the signal from the key fob, when the driver is
locking the car from a distance up to 10 feet, and then transmits it to its second
part, the “relay box” that is used to unlock the car and start up the engine.
The unit is meant to
assist car makers in testing the network security of their products, but in the
wrong hands it becomes a powerful tool for thieves.
NICB obtained a Relay
Attack unit via a third party security expert.
NCIB Spokesman Roger
Morris said, the Bureau tested this “mystery device” in association with used-car
retailer “CarMax”.
The testing took place
over a two week period with 35 cars, of which they were able to open 19 and
drive away in 18 and were able to restart 12 of the vehicles using the device
again after turning them off.
Sadly, the NICB does
not have a solution to prevent this sort of theft.
Police and vehicle owners should also keep an eye out for any suspicious activity
0 comments:
Post a Comment