Hackers Reveal How To Remotely Start A Range Of Different Honda Models

Security researchers have found a huge problem with Honda's keyless entry system. It could allow hackers to unlock and start all Honda vehicles on the market today, including theHonda Civic. The software is called a 'Rolling-Pwn' attack and was discovered byStar-VLab researchers Wesley Li and Kevin2600. Effectively, the hack exploits Honda's keyless entry system to start the car. It does so by transmitting the proper authentication codes between the car and the key fob.

We'veseen this before with Honda. And earlier this year a19-year-old hacked 25 Teslasfrom all over the world. The F-150 Lightning was, up until recently, extremely vulnerable to Bluetooth hacks. Some have evenused it as an anti-Putin propaganda tool.

Star-Vnotes this kind of attack can be prevented by a car's rolling-codes mechanism. That's a system that is designed to prevent reply attacks (a type of hack) by providing a new code for each authentication attempt by a remote key fob. Evidently, it does not do that properly.

The attack "eavesdrops" on a paired keyfob, capturing codes sent by the fob. Then, the attacker can replay a sequence of valid codes and re-sync the car's Pseudorandom Number Generator (PRNG). As a result, a hacker can use codes from earlier that otherwise wouldn't work. These systems are secure because they almost never use the same code twice (as a result of the PRNG). With the hack, not only will the system take an old code, but it'll use it to start the car.