European Police Arrest a Gang That Hacked Wireless Key Fobs to Steal Cars

Law enforcement authorities in France, in collaboration with
Spain and Latvia, have disrupted a cybercrime ring that leveraged a
hacking tool to steal cars without having to use a physical key
fob.

“The criminals targeted vehicles with keyless entry and start
systems, exploiting the technology to get into the car and drive
away,” Europol said^[1]
in a press statement.

The coordinated operation, which took place on October 10, 2022,
resulted in the arrest of 31 suspects from across 22 locations in
the three nations, including software developers, its resellers,
and the car thieves who used the tool to break into vehicles.

Also confiscated by the officials as part of the arrests were
criminal assets worth €1,098,500, not to mention an internet domain
that allegedly advertised the service online.

Per Europol, the criminals are said to have singled out keyless
vehicles from two unnamed French car manufacturers. The
perpetrators then used the fraudulent package to replace the
original software by marketing it as an “automotive diagnostic
solution.”

Once installed, the tool made it possible to open the car doors
and start the ignition sans the key fob. The agency did not reveal
more specifics on how the attacks were carried out.

Eurojust, in an independent press release, noted^[2]
that the organized crime group “used fraudulent software to steal
vehicles by duplicating the vehicles’ ignition keys,” adding “more
than €100 million, as well as 12 bank accounts, real estate, and 3
luxury cars were seized in France.”

Europol further stated the investigation was initiated by the
French Gendarmerie’s Cybercrime Centre (C3N), with the E.U.-wide
law enforcement agency assisting the case since March 2022.