Thieves hacking the keyless entry system

[neon]

I keep my keys in a small pouch in the house that blocks the signal, was given it by a friend who warned me about this.

[gaby]

Originally Posted by Bernard F

It sounds as close to keyless as makes no difference.

So far, I have only read reports of thieves opening cars with keyless entry, not with keyless drive.
That seems to indicate that there is a significant difference concerning safety.

[KNVXC90]

Originally Posted by neon

I keep my keys in a small pouch in the house that blocks the signal, was given it by a friend who warned me about this.

Any more details on the pouch that you use?

[KNVXC90]

Originally Posted by volvo for ever

has any one contacted garage or volvo customer service to asky if this is genuine article

I have emailed VCUK, but not sure I'll get anything concrete out of them.

[neon]

Originally Posted by KNVXC90

Any more details on the pouch that you use?

I will see if I can find out more.

[Lexman8]

At home, you can block the fob's RF signal by putting it in any metal container you happen to have lying around: sweet tin, biscuit tin, etc, or wrapping it in aluminium foil. It doesn't have to be earthed or anything; there's nothing special about a dedicated signal blocker, it's just a miniature Faraday cage made of conductive material that blocks RF. You can test the effectiveness of your tin/foil solution by going to the car and trying to unlock it. It may unlock if you are really close to the B pillar where the keyless antenna is located as there will be very slight leakage from any shield, home-made or not.

As already already noted, the system is most vulnerable when the fob and car are in close proximity to enable handshaking via the thieves kit. Taking the example of a parked the car and walking to or from it, the fob has to be out of any container to allow you to lock or unlock the car and this is when it's most likely to be hacked. Also, I would expect the keyless system to use a rolling one-time code for every lock/unlock so thieves cannot store a code to use it later on.

And if you do use a signal blocking tin or whatever don't forget your spare keys too.

I'm off to get my tin-foil hat now.

[GreenBrick]

This reminds me of a man and a posh car in the supermarket, he got out of the car and casually pressed his remote as he walked away, not even looking, but instead of locking it, he opened the rear powered hatch, thus leaving all his belongings on show.

As much as these gadgets seem like just toys to one-up the neighbours, and show-offs are fair game, I did report it to a member of staff at the supermarket.

[KNVXC90]

Originally Posted by KNVXC90

I have emailed VCUK, but not sure I'll get anything concrete out of them.

Here's what I got back from VCUK:

Thank you for your e-mail. Our response to this matter is as follows:

We are using the latest technology for our keyless system and we will continue to work to develop increasingly secure systems. That said however, it has always been the case that as fast as security systems are developed, thieves are working to find a way round, even resorting in recent memory to a more basic method of breaking into houses to steal the keys.

We recommend that all keys should be handled securely and with care. We advise customers to consider where they store their keys, aiming not to keep them in close proximity to the car.

Kind regards

[tangey]

Originally Posted by Bernard F

I would not lose any sleep over this one. Access is required to both the key and car at the same time and be within one metre of each.

That explaination only stands true for the legitmate use of the technology.

The "hack" involves boosting the signal that the car generates whenever you attempt to open the door. I've seen the video whereby its a 2-man process, One man attempts to open the door, the other walks around the house with a breadboard looking device, which is the antenna.

Depending on how good the boost is, the idea is to boost it enough so that the key picks it up whilst lying in the kitchen/bedroom etc, sends back the authorisation and the door opens.

The 1st guy gets in, and then attempts to start the car, whilst the 2nd guy again is boosting the signal. Once started, they are away. Car will continue to operate without a key until turn-off.

Can easily be defeated by storing your keys in a faraday pouch which are cheap on eBay and entirely effective. I bought one for £6. Pop my keys in it at night. At work I'm parked 1/2 miles away.

[steladamo]

Originally Posted by tangey

The 1st guy gets in, and then attempts to start the car, whilst the 2nd guy again is boosting the signal. Once started, they are away. Car will continue to operate without a key until turn-off.

Maybe I am wrong here and someone can possibly try to confirm this, but I am under the impression that the car when it is away from the key, will stop running. For example I have seen a video on the new XC60 that someone who was filming the "Thor" lights of the car had the key in his pocket and when he moved a bit away from the car the lights switched off. He had to leave the key in the vehicle in order to be able to continue filming.