Sunday, January 30, 2005

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Somewhat interesting NYT article on grad students who have cracked the high-tech car keys with embedded chips. However, as far as it pertains to cars, I think the article is more interesting in theory than in practice (as the article points out, there are broader RFID implications that are more significant, because other applications don't have the two-factor safety-net that the physical aspect of the car key offers). The greatest distance that his company's engineers have managed in the laboratory is 12 inches, and then only with large antennas that require a power source. Dr. Rubin acknowledged that his team had been able to read the keys just a few inches from a reader, but said many situations could put an attacker and a target in close proximity, including crowded elevators. So, to crack the system, I: 1. Have to have the capture device. 2. Have to be in very close physical proximity to the person in possession of the keys. 3. Have to be able to actually locate their car. 4. After all that, still have to break into and hot-wire a car the conventional way. Side note on that two-factor consideration: I believe certain cars, like the Toyota Prius, don't require a key in the ignition, so for them--goodbye two-factor consideration. But--you still have to know where your victim's car is located, which in practice may be almost as good (or maybe not, if remote-entry is equally crackable).. 9:41:05 PM    comment []