can people break into cars with phone apps?

[skhan91]

okay so people at work are claiming that their cars have been broken into with phone apps? is this a thing now? anyone have any info on this? i find this very hard to believe

[CGY_GTI]

Re: can people break into cars with phone apps?

I can see it happening. I know some BMWs can be started, unlocked, etc using their app. My aunt's new Volvo can be started from her phone, but I don't know what else can be done. I'm assuming you'd have to setup some sort of account that would be linked to the car, so if someone were to get the account info it would be easy to do. Just one more thing I never want on my car.

[skhan91]

Re: can people break into cars with phone apps?

yea i knew that was a thing that comes with the newer cars. people are apparently claiming that any hacker who is good enough could hack cars with their cellphone apps. i mean it makes sense if the car has some module that can accommodate this (remote start and alarm modules that bypass cars security) but without that i really dont see how cellphones can do this. just kind of concerned if i should take some proactive measures.

[Fizzo20]

Re: can people break into cars with phone apps?

Any technology is going to have unforeseen loopholes, and I have no problem believing that hackers will find and exploit them. Just another reason why I never want one either.

[skhan91]

Re: can people break into cars with phone apps?

yea i guess eventually thats definitely a possibility i just didnt think this was happening now

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[Thor]

Re: can people break into cars with phone apps?

i could see them sniffing the data and copying it but that would require observation and closeish range. But certainly doable

[mferrariomk5]

Re: can people break into cars with phone apps?

It wouldn't surprise me.

I've had two friends that have gotten their cars stolen from their garage. One of them left his car unlocked and someone took some tools and jackets in the back and his garage door opener went missing (Didn't realize at the time) since he also has it programmed on the "homelink" of the car which he mainly uses. Couple months later his car was stolen from inside his garage. He has an attached garage and they went into the house through the garage and got the keys which were conveniently on the key hook by the garage door. Police assumed that when they broke in to the car, they took down the address on the registration therefore new where the car would be.

The other friend just woke up one morning and his car was missing from the garage. He has an old garage door motor, and Police said that openers manufctured pre 1996 don't have protection from someone picking up the signal. So when you press the button on the garage door opener remote, anyone with a receiver can learn that signal and they assumed that was how someone was able to open the garage.

Since then I always lock the door from the garage to the house.

[witchcraftz]

Re: can people break into cars with phone apps?

My car was broken into also last week. They stole all the work site equipment and my radar detector, left the dash cam, CDs and the sunglasses. Omly took the expensive stuff.

http://www.networkworld.com/article/...s-systems.html

Cars with keyless entry systems are capable of searching for a wireless key fob that is within a couple feet of the vehicle, but car thieves can use a $17 "power amplifier" to boost the key searching capabilities, sometimes up to around 100 meters, and pull off a high-tech car break-in.

After almost becoming a victim of a high-tech car heist again, Nick Bilton over at The New York Times said he is now keeping the keys to his 2013 Prius in the freezer. There had been a rash of mysterious car break-ins near his Los Angeles address, including three break-ins to his own car; all cars involved had remote keyless systems that come with a wireless key fob which is used to unlock the doors and start the engine instead of using a physical key.

Recently, he was looking out his window and saw a girl hop off her bike and pull out "a small black device from her backpack. She then reached down, opened the door and climbed into my car." He ran outside and the girl split, but he was curious about the black device she used to open his Prius.

He called Toyota but got no useful info; the LAPD blew it off and told him that he must have forgotten to lock his car. However, he scored when he found a Toronto Canada Police public safety alert warning about "a spike in theft of Toyota and Lexus SUVs" that left no signs of physical damage at any of the crime scenes.

The Toronto Police alert said, "Investigators believe that the suspect(s) may have access to electronic devices which can compromise an SUV's security system." It urged "the public to be vigilant when securing their SUVs, even in their driveways. Using a locked garage is recommended and any spare keys for SUVs should be secured in a safe location."


And another article exploring these new breakins where thieves get in without a key.
http://www.dailytech.com/Are+Keyless...ticle37339.htm

[skhan91]

Re: can people break into cars with phone apps?

good lord.

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