KEYLESS ACCESS – Most cars have no theft protection

Car theft has become child’s play, as many keyless systems are very easy to hack.

ADAC

Posted20 February 2022, 12:00

Keyless systems are very easy to hack, warns German automobile club ADAC. So far, few vehicles offer convincing protection.

Keyless systems allow easy locking and unlocking of the car, without having to take the key out of the pocket. It works with a radio transmitter and that’s exactly what car thieves will play with. But it must be said that we make it much easier for them, because they just need to be near the vehicle key with a small device and near the car door with a second device. The range of the radio signal can thus be extended by a few hundred meters and the car can be easily unlocked and stolen.

No protection in most cases

The German automobile club ADAC has tested this trick on more than 500 car models since 2016. The results are disconcerting: in only 24 cases, the theft attempt was unsuccessful; all other cars might be hacked without issue. Car manufacturers have not yet improved the system sufficiently, as the ADAC notes. “The vast majority of cars equipped with Keyless systems still do not offer sufficient protection once morest thieves”. Only vehicle models equipped with keyless systems using UWB (Ultra wideband) technology might not be manipulated with the devices used during the tests. With UWB, the system is able to recognize whether a car key is actually in the immediate vicinity of the vehicle.

If the key is nearby, its signal can be extended to the vehicle door by means of a special device.

ADAC

Some manufacturers rely on a motion sensor integrated into the key instead of UWB. The absence of movement of the sensor for a certain time leads to the deactivation of the radio signal, no longer allowing the vehicle to be unlocked or started illegally. However, from the point of view of the ADAC, this method is less secure, because until the deactivation of the radio signal, keyless theft is still possible by extending the range of the radio signal. This might be verified by the automobile club on 37 of the models tested.

New systems are more secure

According to the ADAC, only systems integrating UWB offer real protection. They have been used since 2018 in several series of Jaguar and Land Rover and since 2019 on certain brands of the VW group. The first models equipped with UWB have meanwhile also appeared at BMW, Mercedes and Genesis. To protect once morest keyless car theft without UWB protection, the ignition key should not be left near doors and windows and the vehicle should be parked in a closed garage. The ADAC also recommends consulting the owner’s manual, as some keyless systems can be disabled. Certainly, we lose the comfort of keyless, but at least the car can no longer be stolen by hacking its radio system.

ADAC has tested the keyless systems of more than 500 vehicle models. Only 24 of them offered conclusive protection.

ADAC