The truth is, the vulnerability in the Bluetooth Low Energy protocol allows attackers to get inside electric vehicles and even activate the car’s engine. Researchers from the British company NCC Group described how it might work.

Experts have found that the vulnerability in the BLE protocol allows you to expand the range of the standard key or its electronic counterpart. This way, attackers can unlock the electric car and gain access to control even if the owner is quite far from the car.

The hacker will need two repeaters to increase the signal range of the owner’s smartphone or standard key, as well as a laptop with special software to hack Tesla’s security system.

It works

During an experiment shown by NCC Group to Bloomberg News on the example of a Tesla electric car, one repeater was placed about 14 meters from the car owner’s smartphone, and the other was connected to a laptop computer located near the car.

A set of equipment for implementing this scheme costs about $ 100, if you do not take into account the laptop, and can be purchased in online stores. After establishing the connection, the process of entering the car takes no more than ten seconds.

According to researchers, hijackers could safely approach the car owner’s home with repeaters while he or she is asleep, leaving his smartphone on and taking control of an electric car parked nearby.

It’s not just Tesla electric cars at risk

The hacking technique differs from the known only in some nuances and is not specific to Tesla electric cars in general.

This gives you access to more than two hundred car models and various “smart” devices, such as electronic locks that use the BLE protocol to communicate with a smartphone.

In the case of Tesla, it’s necessary to change the equipment of the machine to protect against theft, so it’s hard to say whether the company will dare to massively recall electric vehicles for preventive purposes.