Posted on 02/27/2014 10:04:29 PM PST by 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.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicago.cbslocal.com ...
Mysterious? Key codes are published.
What’s the surprise. Our kids have been cracking copy protection schemes for years now. Or Who’s to say it’s not faulty encryption with back door?
This will combine nicely with what has been going on around here lately. I suppose it’s been in other areas for awhile, but it was “new” to us:
Thieves have been breaking into cars at events that they know will last for several hours (concerts, etc.). They take the garage door opener, along with the car registration (which one is required to have at all times). They drive to the address, use the opener, and clean out the house.
This resulted in a bizarre press conference, where the police spokesman basically told people to break the law by not carrying around the vehicle registration or insurance information with an address listed. At least one woman was injured when she arrived home “early” and surprised the thieves.
It is a trick to get us all to ride the bus and use bicycle lanes.
I seem to remember a starter switch built into the shift lever on a column mounted shifter. Just pull back, sort of like dimmer switches today. I had a 1941 Nash that had a station changer for the radio mounted on the floorboard like a dimmer switch.
Even easier it to record the signal as you get out of your car and lock it with the key fob, the code is merely a high frequency sound.
If you lock your keys in the car and the wife has an opener just call her on your cell phone and ask her to send the code over the phone, works I have done it.
Might be helpful if when you get out of your car always set the lock manually and not with the remote, might help.
They don't care. That's why they are the last to know about the latest tricks.
ping
Broad Band Infrared transmitter and your electronic lock system goes “Click”.
I’d surmise that the locks are not made to resist brute-force attempts to discover their codes (as by shutting out further attempts for a significant period of time after an invalid attempt).
Convenience would possibly suggest this characteristic, so that someone else with the same frequency door-opener using it within receiving distance of yours will not deny you electronic access to your own lock. But it would be good to allow the car owner to program his own lock-out time. Even a lock-out time of 1-2 seconds would make it harder for such an e-burglar if he has to deal with millions of possible codes.
Is that like the riddle of the Sphynx... if you don’t answer correctly the car will run over you?
One could always carry that paper around personally and see to it that anyone else who is authorized to drive the car does so as well.
(Hand up)
My first three cars had ‘em.
—They were old cars even then :)
“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.”
Having worked for a company that builds video slot machines I can tell you that embedded code to rig the machines would be discovered — most likely before the first game of its type was “approved”. The code must be supplied beforehand and working prototypes are extensively tested. Plus everyone connected with the manufacture & sale goes thru a thorough & I mean thorough background check. Get caught attempting it and you’re banned for life every where.
Gaming is a lucrative business but the barriers to entry in the marketplace are high.
>> When embedded systems engineers go bad....
Most of us are born bad. Or at least with a couple screws loose. Onthejobtraining brings it on home. :-)
>> get us all to ride the bus and use bicycle lanes
If the bus uses the bicycle lane, I want to be on the bus and not on the bicycle. ;-)
Me, teacher! Pick me!
The key fobs transmit a digital code that the onboard computer reads. the code is never the same twice in a row and changes according to a pseudo random scheme that is synched between the onboard computer and the fobs. Further, a large number of different pseudo random algorithms are used, so that if by chance one fob syncs with the wrong vehicle one time it won't do it a second time. Anything breaking that has either insider information or an extremely sophisticated computer program. I'd bet on insider information from someplace like onstar. Further a rheostat is just a variable resistor. Who would that change a transmitter frequency?
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