Battery Sleuth: an unstoppable solution against car theft?

Recent cars are increasingly coveted by thieves, who are now using new theft techniques to accomplish their mischief: today, electronic theft (or mouse jacking) represents nearly 70% of car thefts.

But American researchers are currently working on a new device against car theft: called « Battery Sleuth » (which could be translated as “battery detective” in French), this device would make it possible to fight against car key hacking.

A new technique to counter car theft

With the advent of hands-free access systems, car keys have become particularly vulnerable to thieves: in fact, all it takes is a small, malicious electronic box to intercept the signal from a key, in order to duplicate it. The thief can thus unlock and then start a vehicle, without any form of visible break-in.

While it is possible to use special cases to block the signal from your key, or physical anti-theft devices such as a steering wheel lock to prevent the thief from driving the car, these solutions are not necessarily very practical on a daily basis.

This new “Battery Sleuth” device is currently being tested by University of Michigan researchersin the United States: it allows you to act on the battery, in order to block it in the event of car theft, and to ensure that the thief cannot start the vehicle.

Battery Sleuth : la solution ultime ?

To be able to unlock the battery and therefore be able to start the car, the owner must taper un code numeric on a keyboard, or identify yourself with your fingerprint. The system is also designed to trigger the vehicle alarm if several incorrect codes or unknown fingerprints are entered on the device.

According to the designers of this new system, it would be 99.9% reliable against attempts to steal cars by hacking the key. Tests have been carried out on 8 cars, and the system apparently appears to be impossible to circumvent or hack. The researchers benefited from a substantial grant of $1.2 million from the National Science Foundation to carry out their project.

However, you will have to wait for a few more years of research before you can install this system in your car. It is planned to produce an aftermarket anti-theft device to install it in any car already on the road, but also to offer this technology to manufacturers so that it can be integrated directly into future new vehicles. This promising new anti-theft system might give thieves a hard time in the future!

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