Industry News from Yes Insurance
22 June 2006 Reassurance over keyless cars
Car manufacturers are reassuring motorists that immobiliser codes on their vehicles are too strong to be beaten by a laptop.
The words of comfort come after England football captain David Beckham had two of his keyless BMW X5s broken into and stolen.
Press reports surrounding the thefts led to wild speculation that the cars were taken using high-tech code-breaking equipment.
It has caused a degree of panic among drivers who own keyless cars, as they fear their vehicles may be sitting ducks for potential thieves and may lead to owners being forced to pay higher rates on car insurance.
However, automotive technology consultants SBD say these reports are unfounded and they maintain that keyless cars are secure.
"The level of encryption in a transponder is so high, that even a thief equipped with the appropriate software would need much longer than the time suggested for the taking away of Beckham's BMW," said David Bell, managing director of SBD.
"The computing power required to break down the protection is way beyond the capacity of a laptop, unless the thieves have previously managed to source confidential security data about the car.
"We have undertaken extensive research in this field for our recent report on Key Component Management, which illustrates both the strengths and weaknesses inherent in the systems deployed by manufacturers for storing the sensitive data for the programming of keys. Of greater concern than computer code cracking is the security provided by motor manufacturers and dealers to prevent bogus or criminal access to replacement keys and immobilisers.
"Obtaining a legitimate vehicle key through relatively simple fraud poses a much greater threat than the concept of thieves applying complex computer technology to do the job," he added.
© Adfero Ltd
The words of comfort come after England football captain David Beckham had two of his keyless BMW X5s broken into and stolen.
Press reports surrounding the thefts led to wild speculation that the cars were taken using high-tech code-breaking equipment.
It has caused a degree of panic among drivers who own keyless cars, as they fear their vehicles may be sitting ducks for potential thieves and may lead to owners being forced to pay higher rates on car insurance.
However, automotive technology consultants SBD say these reports are unfounded and they maintain that keyless cars are secure.
"The level of encryption in a transponder is so high, that even a thief equipped with the appropriate software would need much longer than the time suggested for the taking away of Beckham's BMW," said David Bell, managing director of SBD.
"The computing power required to break down the protection is way beyond the capacity of a laptop, unless the thieves have previously managed to source confidential security data about the car.
"We have undertaken extensive research in this field for our recent report on Key Component Management, which illustrates both the strengths and weaknesses inherent in the systems deployed by manufacturers for storing the sensitive data for the programming of keys. Of greater concern than computer code cracking is the security provided by motor manufacturers and dealers to prevent bogus or criminal access to replacement keys and immobilisers.
"Obtaining a legitimate vehicle key through relatively simple fraud poses a much greater threat than the concept of thieves applying complex computer technology to do the job," he added.
© Adfero Ltd
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