A group of researchers at the Beijing-based security firm Qihoo 360 recently pulled off the so-called relay hack with a pair of gadgets they built for just $22. That’s far cheaper than previous versions of the key-spoofing hardware. The Qihoo researchers, who recently showed their results at Amsterdam’s Hack in the Box conference, say their upgrade also significantly multiplies the radio attack’s range, allowing them to steal cars parked more than a thousand feet away from the owner’s key fob.
The attack essentially tricks both the car and real key into thinking they’re in close proximity. One hacker holds a device a few feet from the victim’s key, while a thief holds the other near the target car. The device near the car spoofs a signal from the key. That elicits a radio signal from the car’s keyless entry system, which seeks a certain signal back from the key before it will open. Rather than try to crack that radio code, the hacker’s devices instead copy it, then transmit it via radio from one of the hackers’ devices to the other, and then to the key. Then they immediately transmit the key’s response back along the chain, effectively telling the car the key is in the driver’s hand.
(The basis of the Wired article comes from the Chasing Cars: Keyless Entry System Attacks talk given at Amsterdam’s recent Hack in the Box conference; you can find the slides from this talk here (PDF).)
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!
Python for Microcontrollers – Adafruit Daily — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: CircuitPython 9.2.1, What is DMA, PyConUS 2025 and More! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi
EYE on NPI – Adafruit Daily — EYE on NPI Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey
