Thieves Break Into Cars Using Mysterious ‘Black Box’

CBS Chicago ^ | 2/27/14

[Kartographer]

A mysterious device is being used by criminals to easily break into locked cars across the country, including here in Chicago. It has police stumped, CNN is reporting.

[Kartographer]

Video:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/l7OadDz3Ums

[Viennacon]

Racist?

[Mastador1]

I would venture it is a code scanner that reads the code to unlock the car. Aren’t computers great!

[Anitius Severinus Boethius]

Maybe they should use a mechanical locking mechanism. The car manufacturer could install these mechanical devices and provide two or three “keys” that would be needed to unlock them.

[dalereed]

“Maybe they should use a mechanical locking mechanism.”

Just go back to what we had for 75+ years!!!

[KoRn]

One would think it would be rather trivial to do, if one has the proper equipment to ‘listen’ and transmit.

[sockmonkey]

I went to a casino in MS years ago. I don’t gamble, so I just walked around. I saw a guy with a little rectangular black box, and he was waving it low, and in front of various slot machines,and when he did they’d “jackpot”.

[Smokin' Joe]

Just go back to what we had for 75+ years!!!

Hanging horse thieves!

[jsanders2001]

That’s what it is. Don’t the police watch those Repo Man shows? And they’re supposed to be protecting US...lol

[dalereed]

no, key locks, and if necessary offset pins that are unpickable!!

It’s also simple to design around slim jim’s.

Return to hanging thieves of transportation and vehicles of work should start immediatly!

[dennisw]

I would venture it is a code scanner that reads the code to unlock the car. Aren’t computers great!

If so I'll bet they have the codes for only some makes and years. They cannot steal any automobile.

[jsanders2001]

> I went to a casino in MS years ago. I don’t gamble, so I just walked around. I saw a guy with a little rectangular black box, and he was waving it low, and in front of various slot machines,and when he did they’d “jackpot”.

I guarantee that didn’t last long unless it was a casino employee himself..I’ve heard that the organized crime sydnicates have used programmers to write programs for their slot machines for years now. In fact, I think some federal crimininal or civil cases have been filed because of it if my memory serves correct.

[cynwoody]

One would think it would be rather trivial to do, if one has the proper equipment to ‘listen’ and transmit.

That is called a replay attack. Doesn't work with any remotely modern system.

[Bobalu]

When embedded systems engineers go bad....

[umgud]

Somebody with Onstar connections?

[Cold Heat]

Seems to me, that all you would need is a rheostat controlled generator to run through the entire band.....just crank the knob until the locks open.

[Smokin' Joe]

I remember cars with starter buttons on the floor (still have a pickup with one—and the crank behind the seat), and the lock was only something you used when you went to town—if you remembered to bring the key.

[Cold Heat]

Yes indeed....

[Myrddin]

A decent challenge/response wrapped in a an AES crypto should be sufficient to secure door locks. I was using something similar on a project for a major car manufacturer in 2001.