Hackers hacking Prius and other vehicles ...

Yeah previous generations had a vulnerability in which attackers could boost the signal of the fob from where it's stored to where your car is thus fooling your car into thinking that the fob was right next to it. Gen 4 had a much shorter range to prevent this.

Best bet is to store the fob in a metal container that acts like a Faraday cage.

 

You can also turn the fob off on the Gen4 by holding the lock button on the fob (this will lock the car too) and while holding it down press the unlock button twice. The red light on the fob will flash a couple of times to indicate success. The fob will now not reply to the car to indicate it's in range.

Pressing the unlock button turns it back on (and also unlocks your car).

I use the above trick to save the battery in the spare keys too.

 

Could this technique be applied to other vehicles, or its just a Prius, or Toyota thing?

 

I take my spare key battery out. When it was 2 yrs old, I swapped the one I was using to become the spare. Only one driver here - the dog isn't old enough yet.

 

This is an existential threat, I'd say, if vehicles could be hacked.
My concerns would be that, terrorists, could use the hacking technology, to cause mayhem.
Imagine, is your Prius, or any other autonomous vehicle was used to mauled people in a crowded place like Lagos, Network, or London.

 

The hacking issue applies to all vehicles with smart/keyless entry and start. It's a simple and very hard to defeat hack without disabling the system.

The system works by the car sending a weak signal when you put your hand behind the door handle. If the key fob is near enough to receive it the key responds by sending the unlock transmission (as if you'd pressed the unlock button on the fob).

All the hackers do is vastly increase the range of the system by using high gain antennas and a repeater device. They stand near your property and point a high gain antenna at your key fob, that antenna is plugged into a recording device. Another antenna is held next to your vehicle. They put their hand behind the door. The car transmits its weak signal, the recorder records it and transmits it out of the other antenna blasting the signal at your fob. It receives it and transmits the unlock code. The high gain antenna receives it and the recorder records it, then blasts it out of the antenna near your car. Effectively making a bridge between your car and your fob, tricking the car into thinking you're next to it. They repeat the same process for starting the car.

As far as I know, all vehicles with this technology are effected. The equipment is expensive but getting cheaper. The only solutions are disabling the system (either in the car settings or via the key fobs), or keeping your keys in a Faraday bag, metal box, metal safe, microwave, etc, to completely block the signals.

 

1. The hackers don't have the owner's key close to the door handle. So how would they do this?
Are you saying, they just need to place their hacking device close to the door?
2. Totally disabling it you, removing the key fob battery itself, or what?
3. Thanks for clarifying.

 

Or hope they pick someone else's car.

As far as terror incidents are concerned - that's a real issue I've heard on a few PODCASTs relating to Autonomous Vehicles - and they're working hard to get around it.

 

You need someone near the car with one receiver/transmitter, and another near the keyfob - either a static unit, or another person. e.g:

 

1) They don't need the key near the car, that's the whole point. They just trick the car into believing it's near by using a device to relay the signal a further distance... In this case increasing the distance from a couple of feet to the distance to wherever the fob is located in your house. See the diagram posted above as it helps explain it.

2) The smart entry system relies on both the car and the fob being able to transmit and receive signals. You can disable the system for as long as you like in the settings menu in the car settings (on mine is in Setup on the media screen -> Vehicle -> Vehicle Customisation -> Door Lock Settings -> Entry and Start System), or you can disable it on the fob on a more temporary basis as I described above.

 

Good tip, thanks Prof. I now have belt and braces for my spare key, turned off and inside a signal blocking pouch.

 

SWMBO's 2006 Gen 2 alarm goes off quite frequently for no reason, especially when the 12v battery is low. I suspect it's one of the interior sensors and she turns off the interior sensors (button under dash) when it does it and that seems to work. Hers is not key less entry BTW.

 

Not heard of Prii specifically being stolen with this method, but all keyless entry and start systems are vulnerable.

The hackers don't need to know what to send, all they need to do is relay the signals coming from the keyfob to the car, and vice versa.

To be clear... The car transmits a signal to the fob whenever you put you hand behind the handle or press the start button. The fob receives that signal and if it recognises the code it transmits a door unlock code. All the hackers are doing is receiving and boosting those transmissions. They don't have to understand the transmission, break any codes, or anything else. Just repeat it.

 

The manual