Car owners probably should have heard about this especially for those who are using keyless entry feature. Thieves always find loop hole in car feature so that they can stole it easily and get away with. Sources state that approximately 106,524 cars have been stolen in UK in 2023. It is high time that vehicle owners take necessary steps to prevent car theft
How relay attacks work
Cars with Keyless entry is more susceptible to these kinds of threats. Key fobs provided with cars act as a token to enter the car without even placing it on the or picking it up from the pocket of the owner. Remote keys are different than these types of key fobs because in remote fob you need to press the button to unlock the car.
Relay attack need two persons to be able to perform the theft. One thief take position near to the house with a device to capture the signals from the key fob. Once he/she got the signal the machine amplifies it and this gets picked by the car and it gets unlocked. The person near to the car opens the door and both of them gets away with it. Basically, what they did is increasing the key fob range using the help of a signal amplifier.
Vehicles prone to relay attacks
Using the signal amplimers a group of testers from German managed to unlock many cars manufactured by prominent brands. These testers took cars from nearly 30 manufacturers and they managed to break in many vehicles which claim to be luxurious secure and fast selling. From this experiment it is evident that relay attack can get through many cars and you could be one of them. We cannot share more details on this tests and brands because it is not our intention here. We are here to educate you on this issue.
Tips to prevent relay attacks
Thatcham researchers and car security specialists have listed down tips that could help to deter car theft using relay method.
One recommendation is to check with the car manufacturers for option to deter these kinds of attacks by installing an additional software or upgrading to more secure one. Also placing the key fob away from the windows and door will reduce the chances of being replicated by thieves. If its possible store the key fob in off state when not in use.
Another option is using a special pouch called faraday pouches to block the signal from key fob. Researchers also recommend adding additional layer of security using a car tracking devices or an approved good quality mechanical lock
