Car Thieves Can Unlock 100 Million Volkswagens With A Simple Wireless Hack
Aug 11, 2016
In Brief Some 100 Million cars made by Volkswagen are vulnerable to a key cloning attack that could allow thieves to unlock the doors of most popular cars remotely through a wireless signal, according to new research. Next time when you leave your car in a parking lot, make sure you don't leave your valuables in it, especially if it's a Volkswagen. What's more worrisome? The new attack applies to practically every car Volkswagen has sold since 1995. There are two distinct vulnerabilities present in almost every car sold by Volkswagen group after 1995, including models from Audi, Skoda, Fiat, Citroen, Ford and Peugeot. Computer scientists from the University of Birmingham and the German engineering firm Kasper & Oswald plan to present their research [ PDF ] later this week at the Usenix security conference in Austin, Texas. Attack 1 — Using Arduino-based RF Transceiver (Cost $40) The first attack can be carried out using a cheap radio device that can...
