For years, automakers <\/span>and hackers have known about a clever attack that spoofs the signal from a wireless car key fob to open a vehicle’s doors, and even drive it away. But even after repeated demonstrations\u2014and real thefts<\/a>\u2014the technique still works on a number of models. Now a team of Chinese researchers has not only demonstrated the attack again but also made it cheaper and easier than ever.<\/span><\/p>\n

A group of researchers at the Beijing-based security firm Qihoo 360 recently pulled off the so-called relay hack with a pair of gadgets they built for just $22. That\u2019s far cheaper than previous versions of the key-spoofing hardware. The Qihoo researchers, who recently showed their results at Amsterdam\u2019s Hack in the Box conference, say their upgrade also significantly multiplies the radio attack\u2019s range, allowing them to steal cars parked more than a thousand feet away from the owner\u2019s key fob.<\/p>\n

The attack essentially tricks both the car and real key into thinking they\u2019re in close proximity. One hacker holds a device a few feet from the victim\u2019s key, while a thief holds the other near the target car. The device near the car spoofs a signal from the key. That elicits a radio signal from the car\u2019s keyless entry system, which seeks a certain signal back from the key before it will open. Rather than try to crack that radio code, the hacker\u2019s devices instead copy it, then transmit it via radio from one of the hackers\u2019 devices to the other, and then to the key. Then they immediately transmit the key\u2019s response back along the chain, effectively telling the car that the key is in the driver\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n