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Lock It and Still Lose It [24:11]

August 15, 2016·24 min·1 clip
Millions of Volkswagen cars share the same internal cryptographic key, and a single button press can expose it.
1. On Professor, the episode "Lock It and Still Lose It" covers keyless-entry flaws in Volkswagen cars and other brands, starting from a 2016 USENIX security conference talk. 2. The guest connects the research to Flavio Garcia, the University of Birmingham, and a German engineering firm, all tied to the Volkswagen analysis. 3. The core claim is that "lock" and "unlock" systems can be cloned with intercepted radio signals, including attacks that need only one button press. 4. The discussion says Volkswagen sold since 1995 may be affected, with an estimate of nearly 100 million cars and four common keys covering most of the fleet. 5. The host and guest describe a $40 Arduino-based radio setup that can sit in a parking lot, intercept a key fob, and clone it without warning the driver. 6. They also cover a second attack on Audis, Skoda, Alfa Romeo, Citroen, Fiat, Ford, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opel, and Peugeot, all using a flawed cryptographic scheme. 7. That second attack centers on HITAG2, a legacy algorithm from NXP that the guest says is 18 years old and still embedded in chips used by car makers. 8. The host and guest compare the attack to Wi-Fi cracking, including jamming a fob so the driver keeps pressing it and generates more traffic to capture. 9. The episode also links these key fob flaws to older VW ignition and immobilizer research, plus comments about black-box car theft devices and future autonomous-driving vulnerabilities. 10. People concerned about car security, Volkswagen owners, and listeners tracking automotive hacking.

As heard by us

A clear, measured look at how shared cryptographic keys could put Volkswagen security at risk.

Lock It and Still Lose It treats everyday car convenience as a security weakness with unusually broad stakes: researchers said the four most common shared cryptographic keys effectively covered 100 million Volkswagens.

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Why you'd press play

You may never look at a keyless car door the same way after hearing how four shared cryptographic keys could cover 100 million Volkswagens.

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