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Car theft is unbelievable in parts of Canada - been up there a few times in the last few months for work (near Montreal), and the hotel I stay at gave me one of

• bearjaws 3y ago
  Yeah, I saw a TikTok of a person installing a electronic kill switch in the car so that the fuel pump wouldn't run. It was a 2020 Lexus SUV, and I was baffled since it was in Toronto. Didn't realize car theft has become that bad in the city. I had a hidden physical switch installed in my 95' civic to do the same thing in Miami since they were so likely to be stolen.
  • gosub100 3y ago
    how the hell do you steal a 2020 vehicle without the key? I thought thats the whole point of the sophisticated FOBs (that cost $500 for a replacement). I thought the only way you could steal a late model car was with a tow truck.
    • deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
    • xyzzy_plugh 3y ago
      My understanding is that a tool is used to boost the the signals between the car and key fob so the thieves can simulate them being very close -- close enough to unlock and subsequently start the car. Once the door is unlocked though there are any number of ways to get the car moving, especially if you have access to the ODB2 port. My key fob can be put into a battery-saving mode which disables wireless communication unless a button is pressed. My vehicle also supports a song-and-dance to disable all proximity-based sensing, at which point you need to hold the key fob against the ignition panel to start the car. This is incredibly inconvenient and I don't know anyone who does either of these, though.
      • hgomersall 3y ago
        I've got a great solution. How about requiring the users insert a hard to reproduce physical key-like object in a slot before the car will start?
        • munk-a 3y ago
          Objections to how fobs would weaken security were made before they were introduced and fell on deaf ears - I'm not certain why car companies would start listening now. I want my physical keys and knobs and buttons on the console back - half the electronics in cars seem to add negative value.
          • hgomersall 3y ago
            Yes! I hate touch screens in cars. I hate that they are so much more difficult to use and require so much more attention. I guess they're only possible because the car does half the driving for you now, picking up whilst you're distracted trying to turn on the windscreen demister or whatever.
        • mrguyorama 3y ago
          Wafer locks used in car doors are actually inherently easy to lockpick because the tolerances can't be that high. Wafer locks are used because they allow you to insert the key upside down and still unlock it.
          • hgomersall 3y ago
            Ah, I've got a solution to that too! I'm going to call it two factor authentication. Basically it uses a secondary digital key as well that communicates in parallel with the physical widget.
            • MichaelZuo 3y ago
              Huh that's pretty clever, requiring both would make it pretty foolproof.
    • JKCalhoun 3y ago
      Guessing with a Flipper Zero (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39084137 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39084137)
    • hnav 3y ago
      There are relay attacks where you boost the signal from 50 feet away. Think someone pulls up outside your house with a giant antenna attached to a clandestinely made device, unlocks the car and drives it straight into a shipping container. A lot of cars are vulnerable to "all keys lost" programming through the OBD2 port. You show up with an Autel box, smash a window/jimmy the door, pair a blank fob to the car and drive it away.
      • beej71 3y ago
        Shit, I'm to hire a thief to make me a new key. Sounds cheaper and faster than the dealer. ;)