Security risk in McLaren, Tesla keyless entry found

Researchers in Belgium have discovered that they can clone McLaren and Tesla's key fobs to steal the car in seconds

3y ago
3.9K

Tesla has been receiving a lot of stick about their reliability recently, including complaints of bumpers falling off after being exposed to rain. A recent survey by WhatCar? magazine revealed that according to owners, Tesla is the least reliable electric vehicle manufacturer, with a score of just 51%.

To add to their troubles, a team of researchers from the University of Leuven, Belgium has found a security loophole in Tesla's keyless entry system. McLaren vehicles were found to have the same issue as well. The Computer Security and Industrial Cryptography (COSIC) team discovered a way to clone the car's key fob, which enabled them to steal the car in seconds.

To see how they hacked a Tesla Model S, press here.

Tesla is no stranger to security flaws. In 2016 a team of Chinese researchers were able to take control of the brakes, door locks, dashboard screen and other electrical features of a Tesla Model S 12 miles away. Following this, Tesla released major security updates to combat this issue. However, the next year the same team managed to hack the car again, but using a different method. Tesla have said that they have dealt with that problem. You can see their video here.

McLaren have confirmed that there is a "theoretical vulnerability" and customers are being sent a signal blocking pouch to prevent such incidents. They also commented that it has not been proven to affect any McLaren vehicles. Tesla is yet to react on these revelations.

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Comments (4)

  • Please can you tell me .I have an Austin marina am I safe from cloning

      3 years ago
4