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You may have heard the horror stories - thieves using mobile hacking devices to get into your car, or even managing to work the keyless start function. A tiny security weakness is exploited by criminals using easily-available electronics, then before you know it, your belongings and your safety are compromised.
Guarding Against Theft
In an era where car owners face increasingly sophisticated threats from hackers, exploiting rolling code vulnerabilities and finding ways of bypassing security, safeguarding your vehicle's key fob is hugely important. One effective and accessible measure involves the use of a Faraday cage or pouch, which serves as a low-tech and hugely effective physical barrier against signal interception. These devices are increasing in popularity as their use case is proven time and time again.
Understanding a Faraday Cage
A Faraday cage is named after its inventor, 19th century scientist Michael Faraday. It consists of an enclosure of conductive materials that blocks electromagnetic fields, directing them away from the device you want to protect. This has long had applications in electronics, aviation and radio, where for example a lightning strike can be directed around an aircraft, or a military facility can be protected from electromagnetic pulses. In recent years they’ve also become a common sight in households, as stories of car theft became public knowledge. This technology prevents radio frequency (RF) signals from being transmitted or received, thwarting attacks like relay or replay exploits where thieves amplify or capture the fob's signal to gain access to your vehicle.
Faraday pouches are simple, portable, user-friendly adaptations of this concept - usually compact sleeves or bags lined with metallic fabrics, such as copper or nickel-infused mesh. These pouches function similarly to a full cage but are designed for everyday convenience, slipping in a pocket or bag and allowing you to store your key fob securely when not in use.
How to Use One
Choose a certified Faraday pouch that specifies a frequency range of 300MHz to 5GHz, which covers most automotive key fob signals. Ensure it has been tested for effectiveness against common hacking tricks - almost any on the market should have been but it pays to check!
Test! Attempt to unlock your vehicle while the fob is in the pouch; if the door opens, your Faraday cage doesn’t work! The doors should stay firmly locked. Periodically inspect the pouch for wear, as damaged linings can compromise its shielding properties. If it has a hole or abrasion that shows through the pouch, replace immediately as it will no longer work.
Keep your key fob inside the pouch whenever it is not actively needed, particularly at home or in public spaces. This is especially true if kept by a door or window, as this is a common point of a signal leak. Remember thieves do not have to be all that close to hack the signal.
Benefits
A Faraday pouch is an incredibly simple piece of gear that provides sophisticated protection. They are a low-cost, non-invasive layer of defense, complementing other security measures like manual locking verification or firmware updates from your vehicle manufacturer. While nothing is infallible against all threats, it significantly reduces vulnerability to wireless attacks, offering peace of mind without altering your vehicle's systems. It’s also one more layer of inconvenience for any would-be thieves, and will very likely cause them to move on or forget about it. Combine one of these with a security-conscious approach, and consult your vehicle's documentation or a professional for model-specific advice on how best to protect your model. A simple and low-impact device can provide so much peace of mind!