New Car Keys not so Secure

The August issue of Wired magazine has an excellent article on the impact of transponder security systems and how they’ve been circumnavigated by savvy car thieves. The technology has been around for a number of years. A small microchip in the key sends a signal to the car’s computer that tells it to start. Theoretically, if you don’t have one of the car’s own sets of keys you can’t get the engine to start. Theoretically.

In the Wired piece there are a number of heart-wrenching stories by ordinary folks accused of insurance fraud simply because no one thought this technology could be beaten. If you have some time make sure to get through to the end of the story, where the author discovers he can hotwire his own Honda simply by applying the handbrake in a certain pattern. Scary.

[Pinch My Ride, Wired magazine]