{"id":6592,"date":"2016-03-31T06:54:02","date_gmt":"2016-03-30T20:54:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.privatefleet.com.au\/?p=6592"},"modified":"2020-06-20T00:56:23","modified_gmt":"2020-06-19T14:56:23","slug":"freezing-out-smartkey-hijackers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/safety-2\/freezing-out-smartkey-hijackers\/","title":{"rendered":"Freezing Out Smartkey Hijackers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"smartkey2\"<\/a>Smart keys are included as standard features in the majority of new models these days.\u00a0 Keyless entry all seems so simple.\u00a0 You walk up to the car with the smart key fob in your pocket or your handbag and hey presto! The car door unlocks itself just like that.\u00a0 With the newer models, you don\u2019t even have to press the button.\u00a0 All you have to do is to walk within a metre of the car and a wee sensor inside the car will detect the presence of the fob and its unique electronic signal.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s convenient, especially if you\u2019re struggling with lots of bags or a wriggly toddler.\u00a0 However, there\u2019s a downside: they can be hacked with a fairly inexpensive device (if you think I\u2019m going to give you the full details of exactly how to get hold of the device, you\u2019ve got to be joking!).<\/p>\n

These smart key hacking devices sound like something out of James Bond or possibly MacGyver and operate using a very simple procedure. Instead of messing around trying to read your radio signal and nicking the code that\u2019s transmitted from the fob to the keyless entry sensor (something the very sophisticated high-tech car thieves do), this hacking gizmo simply amplifies the signal coming from the fob.\u00a0 This means that instead of triggering the unlocking mechanism when you\u2019re close to the car, the fob will trigger it from a lot further away. A lot further away as in over 200 metres away.<\/p>\n

This means that when you\u2019re sitting indoors and your keys are hanging up on the hook where they usually live, they\u2019ll be able to unlock the car when the car is sitting on the street.\u00a0 Once the car\u2019s unlocked, it doesn\u2019t take a crim very long to hotwire your lovely new car and whizz off with it.\u00a0 You have been warned.<\/p>\n

Is there anything you can do to foil these smart key hijackers?\u00a0 The first thing you can do is to use ordinary precautions such as keeping your car in a locked garage or at least behind a locked gate if all you\u2019ve got is a lean-to.\u00a0 This means that your car isn\u2019t about to go walkies in the middle of the night when you\u2019re asleep with the keys sitting safely on top of the fridge.\u00a0 After all, if your car is parked somewhere insecure with bad lighting, it\u2019s still vulnerable to low-tech attacks with the help of a crowbar or a lock-pick, either of the main door or the fuel cap.<\/p>\n

The other thing you can do, at least according to a technical writer for the New York Times, is to keep your smart keys in the freezer.\u00a0 I double-checked to make sure that this advice wasn\u2019t in a piece put out on April Fools\u2019 Day, so it seems to be fair dinkum.\u00a0 Apparently, a freezer acts as a \u201cFaraday cage\u201d. These block the entry of electric or electronic signals from getting to what\u2019s in the cage.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve seen those TV shows where someone sits inside a vehicle or a metal cage with lightning zapping around them, you\u2019ve seen a Faraday cage.\u00a0 Apparently, this is how shark cages for \u201cdiving with sharks\u201d operations work as well \u2013 it\u2019s thought that the metal interferes with the sharks\u2019 ability to sense your electrical signals (and solid steel protects you from bites, of course).\u00a0 But I digress\u2026<\/p>\n

The other Faraday cage that you are likely to have in your home is a microwave.\u00a0 Ordinarily, a microwave\u2019s Faraday cage stops the radiation that cooks your food leaking out and cooking you or whatever\u2019s in the fruit bowl beside the microwave.<\/p>\n

Therefore, here\u2019s a couple of handy hints for these safer storage spots:<\/p>\n