Milton Police warn of 4-5 masked suspects stealing cars with keyless ignition using relay-hack attacks, which intercept wireless signals to start vehicles without a physical key. Security expert Robert Siciliano explains the vulnerability. Keep your keys away from the car and consider a dashboard kill switch to disable keyless entry.
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These are the would-be thieves Milton Police want you to watch out for. A group of 4 to 5 suspects dressed in dark clothing, face masks, and gloves targeting your cars and anything of value inside. Police were on Ferncroft Road today dropping off flyers in mailboxes asking residents there and on surrounding streets to check their Ring cameras for possible video of the suspects in action.
I got the heads up. There it is.
John Gillis has lived in this neighborhood for 15 years.
Once in a while, there's young kids that get together and this kind of happens.
Police are reminding residents, don't leave your car keys in or around your vehicle. Close and lock all car windows and doors. Park in well-lit areas and never leave valuables in your vehicle. Milton Police say in 3 cases, the thieves stole the actual car, and one car owner told us off camera her car was locked, her remote starter in her house.
There is an axiom in the security industry that if it is wireless, it is hackable.
Security expert Robert Siciliano says with keyless ignition, it's not hard to steal a car without the key. This is police video from the UK of thieves doing just that.
With many cars, unfortunately, you can easily get technology that will essentially allow you to access the interior of the vehicle and allow you to start the car.
The experts say the best way to prevent your car from being stolen is to either park it in the garage, or you can have what's called a kill switch installed under your dashboard so you can deactivate that keyless entry option if you're parking in a risky place.
