Using Laptops to Steal Cars

Ant writes "Thieves are using laptops/notebooks to steal the most expensive luxury cars. Many of these cars have completely keyless ignitions and door locks, meaning it can all be done wirelessly. Thieves often follow a car until it gets left in a quiet area, and they can steal it in about 20 minutes..."

And thats why...

[Sinryc]

And thats why people will want a regular key. Its worked for hundreds of years on other things, so a car should be no problem.
All they really need to do is start randomizing the locks on cars, and not just use the same pattern...
yea, expensive, but safe.

Re:And thats why...

[$RANDOMLUSER]

Locks are for honest people. If a pro really wants to steal your car, whether the key is physical or software won't matter much.

Security by Obscurity is no security at all.

[anubi]

From the article...

"While automakers and locksmiths are supposed to be the only groups that know where and how security information is stored in a car, the information eventually falls into the wrong hands."

Re:shens

[TubeSteak]

but professional car thieves avoid these cars because of their almost zero resell/chop-up value.

Car thieves go after high end cars all the time.

If for no other reason than to steal the headlights & rims.

A friend of mine knew some people that would go out in a 4 man team to steal rims. They had an expensive hydralic jack and some power tools. He said they were shady guys, but would do a NASCAR Pit Crew proud.

And that's not even the pro's.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

The demons of stupidity are loose

[Beryllium Sphere(tm)]

>While automakers and locksmiths are supposed to be the only groups that know where and how security information is stored in a car, the information eventually falls into the wrong hands.

If you replicate a "secret" a few million times, put it in places outside your control, and if you have no way of changing it in the field then you do not have a secret!

>"...There are weaknesses in any system," Tim Hart of the Auto Locksmith Association told the U.K.'s Auto Express magazine.

What, Mr. Hart, are the weaknesses in OpenSSH public key authentication? It sounds like the automakers are trying to roll their own crypto, with the usual results. Designing a crypto system is like playing chess with a grandmaster. You'll make a mistake somewhere, and your opponent will find that mistake and use it to break you.

As long as people make blunders like this we'll have fiascos like the TI chips with 40-bit encryption [rfidanalysis.org].

Re:One system alone isn't enough

[P3NIS_CLEAVER]

No it isn't. It takes 20 seconds to cut through the steering wheel to remove it.

You've just been lucky.

Re:Far too long.

[fm6]

But one could shutdown and entire highway with enough stalled cars.

Given the kind of cars we're talking about, that would only work in Beverly Hills!

Re:getting noticed...

[PitaBred]

Totally OT, and regarding your sig: A Coors Light and Guinness both have the same number of calories (in case you didn't know). You should slap that grad student.

Re:Yea, right

[poot_rootbeer]

It's not like 99% of keyed systems were very secure. Except for the newer laser/dimple keys, thieves are going to easily get into your car.

A rock through the window defeats even the newer laser/dimple key systems.

The benefit of using a laptop, though, is that the thief doesn't have to engage in suspicious-looking activities like reaching through shattered safety glass on a car with a shrieking alarm, or fidgeting over the door lock with a bobby pin. Now they can just park a cargo van next to the target car, and sit in the back packet-sniffing to their heart's content without a passerby raising an eyebrow.

Re:Nice cars are for suckers

[iogan]

"The first thing I do when I get a new car"

Dude, you really need to get up to scratch on this whole "used car"-thing. Could save you a lot of money.