By Michael Santo
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews
Well, this makes me feel really safe. I just purchased (about 2 weeks ago) a 2006 Prius, though not with the idea I would ever make my money back, by the way. I bought it strictly to get into the carpool lane for my commute.
But it has a smart key system. I never take the remote out. As long as I have the remote in my pocket, I just get close to the car, reach for the door, and it unlocks. Don’t need a key to start it either. Just press the Power button, as long as I have the remote.
Although it can take up to 20 minutes to decrypt some of the data, thieves are using laptops to steal cars with similar systems such as my Prius’.
The expert gang suspected of stealing two of David Beckham’s BMW X5 SUVs in the last six months did so by using software programs on a laptop to wirelessly break into the car’s computer, open the doors, and start the engine.
“It’s difficult to steal cars with complex security, but not impossible. There are weaknesses in any system,†Tim Hart of the Auto Locksmith Association told the U.K.’s Auto Express magazine. “At key steps the car’s software can halt progress for up to 20 minutes as part of its in-built protection,†said Hart. Source: LeftLaneNews
We Say: Hmmm … I figured with the smart key system I wouldn’t have to worry about an alarm or LoJack. Maybe I should have opted for those when buying my car. 
So where does one get a firmware update for the car, and how can the user install it?
Or are we required to get the dealership to do the work, trusting that they weren’t payed off to install a hacked firmware with a backdoor?
I’d think more technical users would want to do it themselves whether it’s through a USB or OBD-II connection. Downloading the firmware/patch myself lets me know that it’s properly PGP signed, and I know I’m installing the latest-available firmware. In an ideal world the download site would also let me know what changes are *in* each firmware, so I can choose which one I want.
This is all based on the assumption that automakers will take the issue seriously and fix the problem.
Yeah. That’ll happen.
The remote as you called it is not,it is refered to as a FOB.
No conventional remote can do what the Prius FOB does.
I didn’t buy my ‘04 Tideland Pearl Prius with the intent of getting my money back, but, if I was offered $1,000. more than I paid.
I am enjoying my green machine, it is best car I have driven/owned in 49 Years.
Tony Liscio, Prius Pioneer
Don’t worry, no one is going to invest the time or effort to steal a BMW in stealing a 2006 Prius.
Smart keys in most cases are just a RFID chip. Great article this month in Wired about hacking RFID chips.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.05/rfid.html
All you need is a reader then you can clone the chip using a laptop and an emitter hooked into the USB port of the laptop. Smart cards used to gain entrance to buildings are also vulnerable.
David Beckham probably doesn’t even miss the BMW X5’s. In fact he probably goes through BMW’s like normal working class people go through underwear. So forget Beckham.
what are you talking about, NASADUDE? there’s no more chance of someone stealing a Smart Start enabled car than a regular Key Start car. the article said nothing about that. all it said, was that it HAD been stolen, and in order to steal it, you have to have the skills to do so, just like when stealing a normal car. it’s not like all you have to do to steal a Prius is own a notebook/laptop. having a Smart Start doesn’t make you any more exempt from theft than owning a non-Smart Start car, it simply adds convenience into the picture. and stealing a Prius is just as hard as stealing, say, an Intrepid, for example.
and why would you trust the dealership any less than you would trust them with a standard security system. if they really were heading up some scam, they’d eventually be caught after so many of the cars they sold went missing. i think you’re just too paranoid. it’ll give you ulcers you know.
as for firmware, most firmware packages don’t let you pick and choose which features you want, they just contain a bunch of fixes for previous problems. that’s the whole POINT of firmware updates, to fix problems! anywayz, if you’re THAT paranoid, let me offer you this: what makes you think that ANYONE who lists the changes that upgrades offer is listing ALL the changes. they could just leave off what they didn’t want people to know. you gotta have a little faith in people sometimes. then again, the way you talk, it sounds like you’ve been burned a few times in the past. but you gotta learn to move on sometime. take a chance. don’t just do things based on the facts, but on what you feel. let emotions get in the way of logic, instaed of just speeling everything the way it’s supposed to be.
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whoa! can you say “tangent”?
[ i knew ya could
by the way, ALL security systems in the world can be “hacked”. security just makes it harder. anything that can be locked, can be unlocked by ANYONE with the skills (and motivation) to do so. so just don’t give people a reason (or opportunity) to take your stuff, and they (probably) won’t.