By Emmanuel OGBECHE
The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, on Sunday raised the alarm of the antics of hackers to remotely start some Honda and Acura car models in order to steal them.
“Multiple researchers disclosed a vulnerability, which is said to be used by a nearby attacker to unlock some Honda and Acura car models and start their engines wirelessly. The attack consists of a threat actor capturing the radio frequency (RF) signals sent from your key fob to the car and resending these signals to take control of your car’s remote keyless entry system,” the statement signed by Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, Director, Public Affairs of the NCC stated.
According to the commission, with the use of a Man-in-the-Middle, MitM, attack or a replay attack in which an attacker intercepts the Radio Frequency, RF, signals normally sent from a remote key fob to the car, the hackers manipulate the signals, and re-send them later to unlock the car at will.
The commission advised that when affected, the only mitigation according to cyber-alert unit is to reset the key fob at the dealership. The affected car manufacturer may also provide a security mechanism that generate fresh codes for each authentication request, which makes it difficult for an attacker to ‘replay’ the codes thereafter.
Owners of such brands are further advised to choose Passive Keyless Entry, PKE, as opposed to Remote Keyless Entry, RKE, which would make it harder for an attacker to read the signal due to the fact that criminals would need to be at close proximity to carry out their nefarious acts.
The PKE is an automotive security system that operates automatically when the user is in proximity to the vehicle, unlocking the door on approach or when the door handle is pulled, and also locking it when the user walks away or touches the car on exit. On the hand, the RKE system, on the other hand, represents the standard solution for conveniently locking and unlocking a vehicle’s doors and luggage compartment by remote control.
Also, vulnerable car users are advised to store their key fobs in signal-blocking ‘Faraday pouches’ when not in use.
