New crime statistics have revealed car thefts have hit a 10-year high in Victoria

ABC NEWS (Australia)

New Victorian crime statistics have revealed car thefts have hit a 10 year high in Victoria. It seems some of the thieves are using the latest technology to target modern cars stealing them silently and without the need for a key.

Transcript

00:00I think it's probably a range of things.

00:04We're in hard times.

00:06It's an easy way of getting money.

00:07And as you pointed out, there are some fancy, expensive cars

00:10with high-tech equipment in them.

00:12That's very nice for someone in a quite short period of time.

00:15So I imagine temptation's increasing as well.

00:17Yeah, so what can you tell us about Bluetooth relay devices

00:21and how these are being used to steal the latest cars?

00:26They've been around a while,

00:29but we're seeing them used much more now.

00:31And possibly that's a reason for the uptick,

00:33that people are talking to each other and learning about it.

00:35The idea is some cars, you can get close to the car

00:38and use Bluetooth to unlock it.

00:40So it's sort of hand-free, which is really convenient.

00:42And as is often the case with convenient things,

00:44it can also be used for bad.

00:46So how a typical sort of relay attack

00:49or a man-in-the-middle attack would work is

00:51your keys would be in your house.

00:52So you'd think too far from the car to be able to unlock it.

00:55And the thieves would get a device

00:57with a very strong antenna

00:59and pick up the signal from your Bluetooth fob.

01:01And they would retransmit that

01:03with much more power to the car key, to the car door.

01:06So the car would think the key is standing right next to it.

01:08It would just relay messages

01:09backwards and forwards between them.

01:11So yeah, if you're relying on Bluetooth to unlock the car,

01:14then the crims can essentially pretend

01:16that you're standing right next to the car,

01:17even when you're asleep.

01:19And they just hit the button, the car starts.

01:22That's it.

01:23And so are these devices legal or not?

01:27Yeah, yeah.

01:27Because you just need basically a wireless.

01:30I'm sure the precise device they're using is illegal or banned,

01:33but it's very easy to make them.

01:35You just need a Bluetooth receiver and transmitter.

01:37And it's just a wireless thing, really.

01:39Even a wireless transmitter and receiver will do it.

01:41So it'd be very hard to block.

01:43Really, it's probably a lesson to us

01:45that we should be a little bit cautious

01:47about making things really convenient.

01:50Using Bluetooth to unlock your car sounds good,

01:52but I'm sure the ASIO doesn't use Bluetooth.

01:56So what's the best way to try to ensure thieves

02:00can't hijack your Bluetooth commands?

02:04Yeah, so if you already have a Bluetooth car,

02:06you basically don't want your key fob

02:08to be able to transmit anything.

02:09Some people try to block it in various ways.

02:12I've heard of people putting it in microwaves.

02:14Obviously, that has potential risks

02:17of things going wrong there

02:18if you're a bit absent-minded like me.

02:20But yeah, you wanna disable it as much as possible.

02:22I'd take the batteries out,

02:24but probably that's too much effort.

02:26What my students and I do sometimes

02:28is we just wrap lots of aluminium foil

02:29around Bluetooth transmitters

02:31and then test it by walking up to the car

02:33and making sure the car won't open.

02:36In the long run, though,

02:37I'd order something from online,

02:40something called a Faraday cage,

02:42a little case that you can put it inside.

02:44And when it's shut,

02:44it completely shields all transmissions off.

02:47And they're very cheap.

02:49And again, I'd test it by taking it up to the car

02:51and make sure it works.

02:52And these thieves also put a Wi-Fi blocker,

02:55in their story today on ABC Online,

02:58they put a Wi-Fi blocker

02:59on the security cameras on the home

03:02so that the footage was just blank.

03:04Is there any way to prevent that happening?

03:09Well, again, it's smart devices.

03:11We often say in the community

03:13that replace the word smart with the word risky.

03:17I've got a risky phone, a risky fridge,

03:21a risky nanny cam.

03:23So yeah, it's sort of the old Lupon,

03:26like the thing of the thieves going up

03:28and just spraying the cameras with a blow,

03:30you know, a paint spray device to block it out.

03:33Here, they walk in and they just jam the signal

03:35so the camera can't transmit.

03:37Really old school stuff would defend you against that.

03:39So if instead of just transmitting the picture,

03:42you had a slightly more expensive camera

03:44that also recorded it locally,

03:46then the jamming would only stop the image being sent,

03:49but it would still be on the camera,

03:50and of course that doesn't stop them

03:51finding and smashing the camera,

03:52but presumably it's now becoming quite hard to do that.

03:56And as always, just have multiple systems.

04:00So, you know, anything that a single thing can block

04:03and you've lost isn't a good security arrangement.

04:06You always want a plan B there as well to help you.

04:09Yeah, and can anyone do a Kyrgios?

04:11We had Nick Kyrgios when his car was stolen.

04:13He had an app on his phone

04:15and was able to control the speed of the car

04:18after it had been stolen.

04:20Oh, I've got to say, the community is,

04:23there's so much conversation about these remote control cars

04:25that can be used for bad.

04:26That's an example of them being used for good,

04:28which they scare me so much.

04:30Yeah, you can get angular mobilizers,

04:33which you can remotely activate,

04:34and that's not a bad idea.

04:35And you can put trackers on your phone.

04:37You could put an Apple sort of AirTag thing,

04:39though they're designed to reveal their presence

04:41after a short period,

04:42so that wouldn't work for a long time.

04:43But you can buy devices, you know, tracking devices

04:45and put them in the car.

04:46So there are technological things you can do

04:48if you wanted to play that game,

04:49but I'd more be inclined to go down the physical path,

04:52like just trying to do it

04:53that no matter how technically strong they are,

04:55they physically can't steal it.

04:57So keep it locked up in a garage,

04:59put an engine immobilizer in it,

05:01take off the distributor cap

05:04and take one of the wires inside with you,

05:06put one of those things you put on cars

05:08when they haven't paid their parking

05:10and they lock them down, that sort of thing.

05:12I'd rely on that as well.

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