Tesla Key Fob Security Allows for a Hacker to Steal a Car in Less Than 30 Seconds

cageymaru

cageymaru

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Tesla has updated their key fob technology and added a pin code on the Tesla Model S to counter a new hack discovered by researchers at the KU Leuven University in Belgium, that allows a car thief to steal a Tesla in less than 30 seconds. Basically the Pektron keyless entry system on Tesla and other cars only uses a 40-bit cipher to encrypt key fob codes. After learning the two codes from a key fob, they were able to compute all the possible keys for any combination of code pairs. Then they could spoof any Tesla key fob in less than 2 seconds. The parts to recreate the hack costs $600 and owners of older Model S cars will need to purchase an updated key fob. The researchers believe that the system will work against McLaren, Karma and Triumph motorcycles.

If those other manufacturers are indeed affected, beyond putting keys in those "signal-blocking pouches"--Faraday bags that block radio communications--just how all of them might definitively fix the problem is far from clear. The researchers say that the companies would likely have to replace every vulnerable key fob, as well as push out a software update to affected vehicles. Unlike Tesla, whose cars receive over-the-air updates, that might not be possible for other manufacturers' vehicles.
 
Krenum said:
This is the perfect opportunity for Tesla to introduce a Magnavolt type system.

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Beat me to it.

First I've heard of this in regards to Tesla but I have been hearing about it in regards to exotic cars in Europe for about 2 years now. Evidently it's a major problem over there.
 
All of those said "modern" cars or in fact any car that uses "wireless" keys for opening and starting up the engine could get stolen that way. It's not just the Tesla.
 
DTabakov said:
All of those said "modern" cars or in fact any car that uses "wireless" keys for opening and starting up the engine could get stolen that way. It's not just the Tesla.
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Well, any.. car can be stolen. Just that focus is on more expensive cars on exotic methods ;)
You won't see a bottom line Ford Fiesta with fob get stolen like this. I let you find why but I'm sure you know.
 
It's sort of funny how we dumped the other half of vehicle security in the name of convenience because we're so lazy. That half being the physical key blade itself, and we pay more for the privilege to loose security.
 
Mazzspeed said:
It's sort of funny how we dumped the other half of vehicle security in the name of convenience because we're so lazy. That half being the physical key blade itself, and we pay more for the privilege to loose security.
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Since when a key = security ? Anyway... nothing is 100% safe. Some cars will get more burglar focus and some will get more burglar R&D.
It's much like computer security I think... when there's a will there's a way sadly.
 
MMitch said:
Well, any.. car can be stolen. Just that focus is on more expensive cars on exotic methods ;)
You won't see a bottom line Ford Fiesta with fob get stolen like this. I let you find why but I'm sure you know.
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Of course, exotic = expensive and so on. Which reminded me of a case from 1998 or 99 when a "businessman" came for a visit from Germany I think (I live in Eastern Europe) and wanted to leave his Mercedes on the street stating "art of security central locking system". All it took for the first car thief to open the god damn car was a tennis ball and around 20 seconds :D
 
Krenum said:
This is the perfect opportunity for Tesla to introduce a Magnavolt type system.

Click to expand...

Now that I'm an adult watching this makes cringe knowing how awful the interior of the car would smell. It would be worse than just losing your car..
 
DTabakov said:
Of course, exotic = expensive and so on. Which reminded me of a case from 1998 or 99 when a "businessman" came for a visit from Germany I think (I live in Eastern Europe) and wanted to leave his Mercedes on the street stating "art of security central locking system". All it took for the first car thief to open the god damn car was a tennis ball and around 20 seconds :D
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Exactly this lol, you don't park such car in "odd" places anyway... hence the sentiment of increased security but fact is, good burglar (or high tech sponsored ones) won't steal a 15k hyundai fob.
Good fob system on typical car is good, get a bodyguard for your ferari if you go buy your weed in sketchy places.
 
Arbit3r said:
So its at the owners expense they have to BUY new fob's instead of getting the update for free? Pretty cheap of tesla not give the update to the owners that bought the car's.
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I would say that if car is under warranty, yes but if not... no.
When this was designed it was un hackable per say... now no... you need to pay for upgrades.
SADLY Much like intel with spectre / meltdown or iphones and NSA.

In a perfect world, an OEM will back their un hackable claim with such warranty...
 
Mazzspeed said:
It's sort of funny how we dumped the other half of vehicle security in the name of convenience because we're so lazy. That half being the physical key blade itself, and we pay more for the privilege to loose security.
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Eh what? The physical key was a complete joke that anyone with a tiny bit of training was able to bypass a myriad of different ways. We ended up going to fobs and keyless because the actual physical key was basically useless. Those keys were basically just knobs on an switch. You could bridge the switch, you could use mechanical force to overpower the lock mechanism, etc.

Acting like a physical key, any physical key, is secure is pure fallacy. Hell, when you get into actual *rated* key systems, they aren't rated on how impenetrable they are but on how long they take to bypass.
 
MMitch said:
I would say that if car is under warranty, yes but if not... no.
When this was designed it was un hackable per say... now no... you need to pay for upgrades.
SADLY Much like intel with spectre / meltdown or iphones and NSA.

In a perfect world, an OEM will back their un hackable claim with such warranty...
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure 40-bit ciphers were known to be insecure at least a decade before Tesla started making cars. This is about as flawed a design as it gets.
 
If I ever caught someone trying to capture codes off my ass, he would end up in that little bs pond.
 
aaronspink said:
Eh what? The physical key was a complete joke that anyone with a tiny bit of training was able to bypass a myriad of different ways. We ended up going to fobs and keyless because the actual physical key was basically useless. Those keys were basically just knobs on an switch. You could bridge the switch, you could use mechanical force to overpower the lock mechanism, etc.

Acting like a physical key, any physical key, is secure is pure fallacy. Hell, when you get into actual *rated* key systems, they aren't rated on how impenetrable they are but on how long they take to bypass.
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It's still an additional level of security and the standard key/tumbler system can be upgraded to something better. The fact remains that people are paying more to loose an additional level of security.

Most vehicles have immobilizer systems now, people are paying more to loose the key blade and all the manufacturer has to do is add a bigger antenna to the immobilizer - Which costs next to nothing.
 
Mazzspeed said:
It's sort of funny how we dumped the other half of vehicle security in the name of convenience because we're so lazy. That half being the physical key blade itself, and we pay more for the privilege to loose security.
Click to expand...

Most cars with keys are way easier to steal. 1999-2006 gmc trucks/SUV, drill the tumbler which takes about 5 seconds or jam a screwdriver in and turn to break the tumblers and you're driving away
 
Time2Kill said:
Most cars with keys are way easier to steal. 1999-2006 gmc trucks/SUV, drill the tumbler which takes about 5 seconds or jam a screwdriver in and turn to break the tumblers and you're driving away
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Yes, most cars with keys 'only' are easier to steal. As stated, most new cars 'with physical keys' have immobilizers fitted, these immobilizers are the systems being used in keyless entry/start configurations - They simply do away with the key barrel and fit a better antenna to the already present immobilizer system.

You are being duped, you are paying more for the manufacturer to 'remove features'.
 
I think most people either didn't know or forgot that no matter the brand there were only finite keys teeth designs. I remember back in the 80s/90s, I could take my car key and try sticking it into a similar make/model and sometimes it would work. My friends and I laughed about it - this was true on my 80s Datsun (AKA Nissan) and 90's Pontiac. Like has already been said, that's why they started putting in the immobilizers and chipped keys. The old regular keys just weren't secure - but given the time period, it's what they had.
 
MMitch said:
Exactly this lol, you don't park such car in "odd" places anyway... hence the sentiment of increased security but fact is, good burglar (or high tech sponsored ones) won't steal a 15k hyundai fob.
Good fob system on typical car is good, get a bodyguard for your ferari if you go buy your weed in sketchy places.
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I'll grant that Hyundai don't make the top 10, but you're kidding yourself if you think car thieves won't steal crappy cars. Here's the list of the most frequently stolen cars: Hint: they're not fancy
 
Mazzspeed said:
Yes, most cars with keys 'only' are easier to steal. As stated, most new cars 'with physical keys' have immobilizers fitted, these immobilizers are the systems being used in keyless entry/start configurations - They simply do away with the key barrel and fit a better antenna to the already present immobilizer system.

You are being duped, you are paying more for the manufacturer to 'remove features'.
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Get over it old man. Convince is King. I like walking g up to my car and automaticly opens for me. I sit in it and push a button and drive away. Keys never leave my pocket. No matter the kind of car or security system they have. If there is a lot of demanding and value for it then nothing will stop thiefs from taking it. If you don't want your shit stolen don't live in shitty areas or stop buying common popular vehicles.
 
dvsman said:
I think most people either didn't know or forgot that no matter the brand there were only finite keys teeth designs. I remember back in the 80s/90s, I could take my car key and try sticking it into a similar make/model and sometimes it would work. My friends and I laughed about it - this was true on my 80s Datsun (AKA Nissan) and 90's Pontiac. Like has already been said, that's why they started putting in the immobilizers and chipped keys. The old regular keys just weren't secure - but given the time period, it's what they had.
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Oh yeah, I can remember getting into the wrong Pontiac 6000 a few times because I wasn't paying attention, right up until I tried to start it.:rolleyes: If they ever do make a secure key-system they'll just go back to towing the car away.
 
vegeta535 said:
Get over it old man. Convince is King. I like walking g up to my car and automaticly opens for me. I sit in it and push a button and drive away. Keys never leave my pocket. No matter the kind of car or security system they have. If there is a lot of demanding and value for it then nothing will stop thiefs from taking it. If you don't want your shit stolen don't live in shitty areas or stop buying common popular vehicles.
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Yeah, stupid poors, stop living in shitty areas and buying cheap cars! Your post is so filled with smug self satisfaction and privilege it is practically bursting at the seams. You're the kind of person who celebrates these kinds of "conveniences" then is the first one to storm into the dealership and ask for a manager when it bites you in the ass.
 
I
Gweenz said:
Yeah, stupid poors, stop living in shitty areas and buying cheap cars! Your post is so filled with smug self satisfaction and privilege it is practically bursting at the seams. You're the kind of person who celebrates these kinds of "conveniences" then is the first one to storm into the dealership and ask for a manager when it bites you in the ass.
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dont live in a great area and drive a Ford. Poor people typically don't drive or if they do have a car it is not worth stealing. You don't know anything about me. I am not privlaged. I worked hard for everything I had.
 
Even if you stole it this way doesn't mean they can't track it down and also this is what insurance is for.
 
All in context, nothing is foolproof:

"Stolen Tesla vehicles in the US have almost all been recovered: 112 out of 115"
https://electrek.co/2018/08/10/tesla-stolen-vehicles-us-recovered-thieves/
It compares to a recovery rate of just 58.4% for all vehicles in 2016 – meaning that Tesla vehicles are much easier to recover on average in the US.
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But it's a growing problem so constant improvements are necessary.

The average American crook has not caught on yet, but in Europe there are more sophisticated techie crooks starting to have some level of success in stealing such EVs and sneaking them across borders to be dismantled etc, in time that should happen here as well, so Tesla's got some updates in the works for Model S/X vehicles to keep up with the rising challenges. It'll probably be a cat and mouse game as usual:

https://electrek.co/2017/07/17/tesla-stolen-software-update-theft/
https://electrek.co/2018/07/31/tesla-theft-tips-help-prevent-relay-attacks/
The leading theory is that they gained access through hacking the key fob or Tesla app of the owner and they quickly removed the Sim card or used a GPS blocker to prevent tracking.
...
After looking at his security camera, another Tesla owner in Heemstede said that he saw “a man lingering around the vehicle with cap, scarf and laptop” before he drove away with the car moments later.
...
You can decrease the likelihood of unauthorised entry by disabling Passive Entry when parked in public spaces or storing your key in a holder which blocks electromagnetic transmissions, such as a RFID-blocking sleeve or Faraday cage.”
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40 bit encryption? That's lame for any car designed after 2000, but for expensive cars like those mentioned it's downright incompetent. What where they thinking?
 
If we're just talking about fast:



When was the last time you heard of a tow truck being pulled over because the car was "stolen" ?
 
Isn't the parking drum brake on the rears? That tow truck just rocketed out of there after hooking it up.
 
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