What are the ways to steal a car? How to protect your car from digital theft?
Read this out in our Friday talk with Author Alarm Senior Technician — Nikolay Kosarev.
Nikolay: Progress is relentless: today, digital theft prevails, so it is quite logical to protect your car in a digital way.
We design our security devices taking into account many technical nuances of theft methods. That’s why our products are so reliable. We do our best to protect the car in the most natural way: at a modern and safe digital level.
To make it clear, let’s imagine we are thieves, and our first task is to get into the car. Then there are several ways of disabling the standard security system: for example, by connecting to the car’s CAN bus through the front wheel arch or the rear fender. Then we can open the central lock programmatically, switching off the standard security system at the same time. Or we can just disable the wiring of the standard horn and the alarm and then break the window or open the door lock mechanically. So …. we are inside the car and can act in several ways.
Way 1: Key cloning.
There is no secret that information about the keys is stored in the certification block. To register new keys, one needs to connect to the standard diagnostic port (OBD II) and get the data required to steal the car.
What can we do against that?
Nikolay: we suggest prohibiting to register a new key. IGLA, our digital anti-theft system, has a built-in protection against registering new keys. There is no chance to create a new key, so the car remains safe.
Way 2: So-called "key canceller".
This slang name immediately tells about the essence of the device: it was designed to start the engine without a key. You do not even need to register new ones — just connect the "key canceller" either to the standard diagnostic port or to the certification unit and here we go: the car is yours;)
Which solution will help?
Nikolay: Our answer is digital blockings. IGLA requires a PIN code entered with standard buttons. Without it, the system will digitally prohibit the engine start or shut it off when trying to start driving.
Way 3: Overriding of OE CAN blockings.
Nikolay: Let me take Toyota as example: these cars can be started and driven even if the CAN bus is damaged. Of course, there will be errors in the work of standard systems, loss of power, and other inconveniences, but the car still will be able to drive. Thieves decided to take advantage of this feature and disable the CAN bus using a simple paper clip.
How does it work?
A clip can be put into the OBD II diagnostic connector — this will instantly cause short circuit in the CAN bus, and the anti-theft device will not be able to send commands to block.
Checkmate situation, isn’t it?
Nikolay: Not exactly. Solution is additional blocking. To this end, we equipped our system with special additional relays (digital relay TOR and analog relay AR20) to block the engine even in case of short circuit in the CAN bus. We also work both with CAN and LIN buses, so, even if the CAN bus is unavailable, the anti-theft system will prevent the engine from starting using the LIN bus.
Any other scary ways of car theft?
Nikolay: ..yes. There is also a way for the most sophisticated thieves, don’t underestimate them!
It’s the legendary "eye", which can grab the PIN code. The thieves use a special device to be connected to the OBD port, which is capable of collecting all data from the driver’s car during the day and finally grabbing the PIN code. You would ask, how can this be done? Easy: during car service someone can put the device into your car.
Sounds impressive, but in practice everything is not that easy, isn’t it?
Nicolay: Yes, the thieves must install the equipment in advance, wait until the "eye" collects data about the PIN code, then re-enter the car. And that is even not all! Then one has to connect to the "eye" and analyze the recorded data — it will also take time. After that, you can try to use the received code, but it will work only if the real PIN code was indeed recognized completely and without errors. After all, in addition to information about the PIN code, a huge amount of other data passes through the bus, and it is impossible to guarantee one hundred percent results. However, it works and cars are still being stolen.
How to solve the "eye" problem?
Nicolay: we considered this way of theft and supplied IGLA with two-factor authorization. In this case, IGLA can be disarmed only when you authorize yourself using both keyfob/smartphone and PIN.
Voilà, the problem is solved and the goal is achieved: the thieves are left in the dust and the car is reliably protected.
Be careful and do not leave your authorization tools unattended — we will take care of the rest!
Don’t miss the opportunity to learn more about us and our technology at the upcoming venues: KnowledgeFest 2019 in Long Beach, CA ( Feb, 23-25) and Motortec 2019 in Madrid (March, 13-16). For more information, please go to www.igla-antitheft.com