Basically, Every Car Is Now Vulnerable To Hacking - Washington Post
VW's vulnerability is rooted in radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips manufactured by Megamos Crypto . Those chips help keep VW vehicles locked up tight and prevent them from starting without the proper key fob. Unfortunately, at least one team of researchers has broken Megamos' cryptographic system, making it possible to carry out brute force attacks on vehicles equipped with the chips. Brute force attacks are basically automated trial-and error attempts to break through security walls. They can take time, sifting through all the possible combinations of "passwords", but eventually, they find a way through. Researchers Roel Verdult, Baris Ege, and Flavio Garcia rammed through one of Megamos' chip systems in about 30 minutes. On the upside, that's a long time for just one break-in. On the downside, plenty of luxury vehicles like Bentleys and Lamborghinis use Megamos RFID chips, and those cars are often targeted by car thieves looking to steal very specific vehicles. Also on the downside: Megamos chips are found in plenty of other cars, too, including some made by Fiat Chrysler and Honda. The chips themselves and the transponders with which they communicate have to be removed and replaced, which is time-consuming and costly. Source: www.washingtonpost.com
