6 ms·

More details from this article: http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Police-Suspects-used-laptops-to-steal-cars-in-9123735.php ht

More details from this article: http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Police-Suspects-used-laptops-to-steal-cars-in-9123735.php http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/a... Quote: Berj Alexanian, a spokesman with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, said officials know how the Jeep Wrangler was stolen. According to Alexanian, the thief broke into the vehicle and used a laptop to enter its VIN number in order to access the Chrysler database. Dealerships, repair facilities and locksmiths are usually the only ones allowed access to the database, which provides the code for key fob access. Once the thief enters the VIN number, he can re-program the car's computer so it will accept a generic key fob. The car will then start, and the thief is able to drive off.

WiseWeasel 10y ago
Also from WSJ, which isn't behind a paywall for me: http://www.wsj.com/articles/thieves-go-high-tech-to-steal-cars-1467744606 http://www.wsj.com/articles/thieves-go-high-tech-to-steal-ca...
TwoBit 10y ago
So they had unauthorized access to the Chrysler servers. Possibly via a stolen laptop. Seems too easy.
- jakubp 10y ago
  Do they not have equivalent of 2FA? What if these were nukes? "We are terribly sorry, Mister President. We did not expect them to steal the launch codes from the database. We will provide asylum for what's left of your country."
  - coryl 10y ago
    Why would Chrysler have nukes?
    - dmos62 10y ago
      My first laugh of the day.
      - csours 10y ago
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Nucleon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Nucleon - Not SOO far fetched
    - jakubp 10y ago
      Meant as a parabole. If server access is that strong, could it be better protected by equivalent of 2 factor auth?