Security experts have publicized a “widespread” risk threatening luxury cars, despite automakers trying to keep it buried.
Most Canadian brokers take any necessary lengths to protect their clients’ assets, and when those include luxury cars, ensure adequate protection for the expensive vehicle.
Due to the actions of certain automakers, however, insurance professionals may have been inadvertently underserving policyholders, since they had information withheld regarding a “widespread” risk that’s threatened luxury cars for years.
Researchers at the USENIX conference in Washington, DC have presented a paper detailing the proliferation of “keyless” car thefts, which are now responsible for 42% of stolen cars in London, according to Bloomberg.
The vulnerability is rooted in the Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) transponder chip used in immobilizers. Car immobilizers are designed to prevent its engine from running unless a key fob with the appropriate RFID chip is nearby.
The British security experts were able to twice enter the communication between the fob and the Megamos Crypto transponder, and then scan through almost 300,000 “secret keys” until it found one that would engage the car. The process took less than 30 minutes.
BMWs and Range Rovers are particularly susceptible, although Magmos transponders are also commonly found in such vehicles as the Audi, Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini, Honda, Volvo and certain Maseratis.
Since Volkswagon owns many of those brands, the researchers took their findings to the German automaker in May 2013. Volkswagon responded by filing a lawsuit to prevent the findings from being published, but after years of negotiations, the researchers’ paper has now been made public.
This type of electronic hack into cars mirrors a similar crime that Toronto police warned Canadians about in April. Those involved thieves using a “power amplifier” device to enhance the signal of a wireless key fob to such an extent that it could unlock cars parked on the street, even if the fob was inside the owner’s house.
“I think it’s a wake-up call for consumers,” Karageorgos told Insurance Business at the time. “We often think of technology as wonderful, perhaps even a panacea, but if we see more theft claims or stolen cars because of technology and issues like this, it may have the opposite effect and drive up rates for comprehensive insurance coverage.”
While Karageorgos acknowledged that it could take a while for keyless car thefts to impact auto insurance premiums, brokers can advise clients to enact defensive measures in the meantime.
“Here in Ontario, the comprehensive and all perils coverage that would cover vehicle owners for a stolen car is considered optional coverage, so everyone may not have it. That’s why it’s important to consider all options to fully protect yourself,” he said.
