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A New Wireless Hack Can Unlock Almost Every Volkswagen Sold Since 1995 (arstechnica.com)
Volkswagen isn't having the best of times. Tens of millions of vehicles sold by Volkswagen AG over the past 20 years are vulnerable to theft because keyless entry systems can be hacked using cheap technical devices, reports Wired (alternate source). Security experts of the University of Birmingham were able to clone VW remote keyless entry controls by eavesdropping nearby when drivers press their key fobs to open or lock up their cars. ArsTechnica reports: The first affects almost every car Volkswagen has sold since 1995, with only the latest Golf-based models in the clear. Led by Flavio Garcia at the University of Birmingham in the UK, the group of hackers reverse-engineered an undisclosed Volkswagen component to extract a cryptographic key value that is common to many of the company's vehicles. Alone, the value won't do anything, but when combined with the unique value encoded on an individual vehicle's remote key fob -- obtained with a little electronic eavesdropping, say -- you have a functional clone that will lock or unlock that car. VW has apparently acknowledged the vulnerability, and Greenberg (writer at Wired) notes that the company uses a number of different shared values, stored on different components. The second affects many more makes, "including Alfa Romeo, Citroen, Fiat, Ford, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opel, and Peugeot," according to Greenberg. It exploits a much older cryptographic scheme used in key fobs called HiTag2. Again it requires some eavesdropping to capture a series of codes sent out by a remote key fob. Once a few codes had been gathered, they were able to crack the encryption scheme in under a minute.
Keyword: since
If you even read the summary, you'll see that it's VW, Alfa, Citroen, Fiat, Ford, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opel, and Peugeot.
Good, it should then be easy for VW to update all their cheating smog applications.
Table-ized A.I.
My key fob broke and Dodge wants several hundred dollars to replace it with a new one.
Plus, it would be way cooler to walk around with a Raspberry Pi on my keychain that opens my car, everyone else car, and turns down the radio of the car parked next to me at a red light.
So in 1995, we also saw SHA1 formally accepted as a standard. And SHA1 is now considered to weak to be secure against well-funded attackers.
The standard VW used had to be developed prior to 1995 if it was in production for the 1995 model year, so it's not surprising that it is more vulnerable. Compute capabilities have grown quite a bit.
The only real problem I see is that VW is still using 90s-era crypto in modern vehicles. I'm not surprised by this, and I'd be shocked if they were the only ones---but it is still a problem.
Cars with remote start and smartphone integration really need to have software support and upgrades over their anticipated lifespan. Sorry if it's a hassle, but cars are IT devices now.
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According to the latest ruleset, this post should be modded as Vorpal Flamebait +5.
The page at Wired requires tons of third-party Javascript and then tries to block ad blockers, so here's a link to the raw PDF:
https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3010178/Volkswagen-amp-HiTag2-Keyless-Entry-System.pdf
power windows and power door locks are a GOOD SAFETY FEATURE.
ever drive thru a bad area?
then you'll understand.
As long as it makes you feel better, I suppose. I used to live in bad areas. You do realize that the sound of those lock actuators are very audible outside the car too, right?
At best, it'll make a bunch of people laugh at you. I've seen guys go up and punch the side window out of people cars when they lock them just for fun. And that window, or even the door panel isn't going to stop a bullet, no matter how many times you've seen it do so on TV or in the movies.
Either lock your doors when you get in your car, or remember to do so long before you end up in a "bad area". At least you won't paint a target on yourself when you're feeling out of you comfort zone.
let them punch my windows. in my whole life, I've never seen a FIST break a window. I think you are full of shit, my friend.
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"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
Real Fords are unaffected; if you read the paper, the vulnerable model are the Ka Mk2 and onward, which are actually rebadged Fiat 500's.
No Ford actually designed or engineered by Ford is in the list.
It depends on the make model mine is like $200 a door for the motor and assembly then $30 for the switch... then you have to drill out all the pop rivets if it's never been changed before and good luck installing the new motor and assembly hope you have tiny hands... sound like a crappy Saturday to me...
In the U.S., cars will unlock with the mechanical motion of pulling the handle from the inside or must have the ability to be unlocked mechanically without electrical power. It's an NHTSA requirement for safety.
Well, you can do the ObMythbusters who tested exactly that and found... it still works great, even after being submerged for 45 minutes.
Or you can realize that it's pretty waterproof as it is, otherwise they'd short out in a moderate rainstorm - battery being in the engine compartment and getting wet, and the doors getting water inside of them too.
No, what really prevents the windows from opening is water pressure - and even a manual crank is too weak to open a window in a fully submerged car.
By the time they manage to break through the safety glass my legally owned and operated handgun will be at the ready, so it doesn't really matter, though I agree he is full of shit.
In the U.S., cars will unlock with the mechanical motion of pulling the handle from the inside or must have the ability to be unlocked mechanically without electrical power. It's an NHTSA requirement for safety.
Have you ever tried opening a car door under water with the windows shut?
If I can be modded down for being a troll, can I be modded up for being an orc, or a balrog?
You're right. It's just sitting in my pocket, on my desk, in a bowl, for anyone to take at any time without my knowledge. Pick any movie from the '90s. I'll start. The Thomas Crown Affair.
Keys aren't meant to keep people out. My house's front door is protected by a key -- only one key will fit the lock. And next to the door is a big glass window -- any key in the world will shatter that window..
Keys, like most security, are meant to require an attacker to escalate their attacks -- so the 7 year-old down the street won't accidentally enter my house, and so the expert burglar needs to actually do something that's always illegal. See, opening the door to my house is legal under so many circumstances. But picking the lock is legal under so very few.
The only security measure that's meant to keep people out is, and always has been, another person.
The cops continue booking me. The guys is screaming till he goes blue!
Sent from my ASR33 using ASCII
It's a shame someone hasn't invented a physical device that cannot be remotely skimmed, which the person could carry upon themselves and use with a physical interface to unlock the door. Perhaps a series of notches on some item that would inserted into the car?
Yes, I test this weekly just to be safe.
Check out the 30(21) foot rule of fighting one day. Might make you think twice about how safe you are with that handgun. "Originating from research by Salt Lake City trainer Dennis Tueller "rule" states that in the time it takes the average officer to recognize a threat, draw his sidearm and fire 2 rounds at center mass, an average subject charging at the officer with a knife or other cutting or stabbing weapon can cover a distance of 21 ...
Edged Weapon Defense: Is or was the 21-foot Rule Valid?"
Said suspect is already at your car. If your weapon is not already in your hand you have very few options.