Quote:Researchers have demonstrated for the third time how hacking into the key fob of a Tesla can allow someone to access and steal the car in minutes. The new attack again shows a security vulnerability in the keyless entry system of one of the most expensive electric vehicles (EVs) on the market.
 
Researchers from the Computer Security and Industrial Cryptography (COIC), an Imec research group at the University of Leuven in Belgium, have “discovered major security flaws” in the key fob of the Tesla Model X, the small device that allows someone to automatically unlock the car by approaching the vehicle or pressing a button.
 
The research team includes PhD student Lennert Wouters, who already has demonstrated two attacks on the keyless entry technology of the Tesla Model S that succeeded in unlocking and starting vehicles. Tesla sells some of the most state-of-the-art EVs available, ranging in cost from about $40,000 for the most basic models to more than $100,000 for a top-of-the-line Tesla Model X.

The key fob for the Model X key uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to interface with a smartphone app to allow for keyless entry, which is where the vulnerabilities lie, researchers said in a press release published online about the hack. Indeed, the use of BLE is becoming more “prevalent” in key fobs so that the devices can communicate with people’s smartphones, researchers noted.