Own a VW or Audi built in the last 20 years? It could be easily hacked.
If you own a Volkswagen or Audi built between 1995 and 2016, it could be susceptible to hackers, researchers have discovered.
Computer security researchers at the University of Birmingham in England published a paper this week detailing a low-tech hack that gave them access to dozens of VW Group vehicles sold since 1995.
Researchers were able to "eavesdrop" on the remote keyless entry controls of the cars while the owners locked or unlocked the vehicles, according to Automotive News. This allowed the researchers to mimic the remote signal with "cheap technical devices."
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Certainly, automotive security technology has come a long way since the 1990s. Amazingly, however, current models like the 2016 Audi Q3 are susceptible to the security hack. What's more, this vulnerability could affect over 100 million Volkswagen Group vehicles worldwide, including Audi, VW, Seat and Skoda brands.
"It is conceivable that all VW Group (except for some Audi) cars manufactured in the past and partially today rely on a 'constant-key' scheme and are thus vulnerable to the attacks," the paper read.
Thankfully, not all modern VW and Audi cars are vulnerable. Cars built on the MQB platform, including the current VW Golf and Audi A3, do not have this remote key flaw.
While this hack isn't as devastating as the one discovered on Jeeps, in which hackers could remotely shut a car down, it's nonetheless worrying.
Topics Cars
