Volkswagen has been in the news a lot lately after the whole emissions scandal come to light, but today, Volkswagen is in the news for something different, this time joining the ranks of Jeep and its hacking problem. As it turns out, more than 100 million Volkswagen vehicles are extremely vulnerable to hacking. And, don’t think this is limited to cars just a few models old. If your VW is from the 1995 model year or newer, it’s at risk. The worst part is: You’ll help the hacker break in and won’t even know it. So, how does this work?
It’s actually really simple and takes nothing more than a reasonably affordable transmitter and receiver. According to Wired. the researchers who uncovered this vulnerability at the University of Birmingham used something called an Arduino radio device that costs about $40. Remember that scene from “Gone in 60 Seconds” when the team of car thieves captured the signal from a remote garage door opener? Well, this hack works kind of like that. A hack sits within close proximity to your Volkswagen and waits for you to remotely unlock it. When you do, the device receives the signal. Hackers can then combine this with a cryptographic key to clone the signal and use it later to unlock the car. That’s not it, however. It does get worse.
Right away, you’re probably thinking that that cryptographic key is hard to come by right? Wrong. In fact, VW uses just a handful of keys across its entire lineup of brands under its umbrella, including brands like Audi, Bentley, Porsche, and Seat, among others. What’s more is that if the car is equipped with keyless ignition, a second exploit that has been uncovered previously can then be used to start the car and drive away once it has been unlocked.
Keep reading for the rest of the story
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