If you don’t take the necessary precautions, your car could be stolen… and they wouldn’t need your keys to do it. This is because modern car keys are constantly transmitting signals. Experts warn that thieves can buy an original car key and use it to replicate a specific vehicle’s access code.
How to prevent this from happening
The easiest way is to wrap your keys in aluminum foil.
How do they do it?
Several cybersecurity experts agree that, while not ideal, it is very easy and inexpensive.
Another option is to purchase a Faraday bag online for a few dollars. It has the same insulating properties as aluminum foil and serves as a shield against the transfer of information that could be used in vehicle theft.
“How could I have stolen my old car with my cell phone, even after I sold it?”
“We’re talking about a form of communication through electromagnetic waves, like radio or television. Think of a song that’s constantly used between a radio and a lock that opens when it plays that song. If I know the song, I can open your lock.”
Moshe Shlisel, CEO of GuardKnox Cyber Technologies, a cybersecurity agency, explains it simply to BBC Mundo.
Shlisel, who also worked for the Israeli Air Force developing missile defense systems, explains that the function of aluminum foil is to create a cell that prevents electromagnetic waves from being recorded by someone else.
“More and more thefts”
Many might find it archaic that, in the 21st century, we have to worry about wrapping car keys in aluminum foil.
“Although I don’t have figures, I can say that these incidents are happening more and more, as the devices needed to carry out these attacks can be easily purchased online, and there are even YouTube tutorials on how to do it,” Shlisel explains.
To which he adds: “The automotive industry is fully aware of these problems and is looking for ways to make it impossible for anyone to replicate the communication between a key and a vehicle.”
