Security News > 2022 > October > Cops swoop after crooks use wireless keyfob hack to steal cars

Europol this week said it has arrested 31 people in a crackdown on a car-theft ring that developed and used a technique to steal keyless vehicles.

The thieves were apparently able to update or manipulate the cars' software so that the doors could be opened and engine started without needing the owner's wireless keyfob.

Officially, the cops said the tool was able to "Replace the original software of the vehicles, allowing the doors to be opened and the ignition to be started without the actual key fob."

French police, working with Spanish and Latvian officers, made the arrests on October 10.

The French car heist follows the emergence earlier this year of a keyfob hijack technique affecting Honda Civics.

In 2016, The Register reported on an experiment in which researchers cloned a Volkswagen keyfob and were able to use it to potentially unlock 100 million vehicles.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2022/10/18/car_thieves_arrested_keyless_tech/