Scientists crack Microchip car immobilizer system
Scientists from the German Ruhr-Universitaet Bochum (RUB) have cracked the Keeloq-RFID encryption system. The technology is owned by semiconductor company Microchip; Keeloq systems have a high market share in car immobilizers and remote keyless entry systems as well as in building automation.
The scientists led by professor Christof Paar, chair of communication security at the RUB, cracked the code using a two-stage approach. In order to breach the code, it is necessary to get into possession of a system equal to the target system in order to achieve the master key, explained research group member Thomas Eisenbarth. He said the attack requires some engineering work such as a Differential Power Analysis (DPA). For the second stage of the attack, it is necessary to receive two radioed ciphertexts of the system which uses a code hopping system and then "let the computer do some work", as Eisenbarth said.
