Originally Posted by Cujet
It seems keyless technology can be duplicated with the right equipment and a car driven away completely intact.
Duplicated? That's not what's happening here.
This would best be defined as an exploit of basic RF systems.
Keyless access system function on a type of two-part communication. The first part, when you approach the vehicle and attempt to enter (by pressing a button, touching a capacitive switch, or operating the door handle), will cause the vehicle to send out a low powered, low frequency signal. This has a range of around 3 meters at most, but can be tuned for less. Any keyless entry transmitter within that
The exploit lies in the RF part. The RF response by the transmitter is just as if you were actively pressing a button on the transmitter. This typically has a range of about 20 m. If you can "boost" the initial low frequency, low range to a level that can reach the keyless entry transmitter, it will respond. Now, anything with enough gain to effectively boost that low frequency signal is totally outlawed by communication standards, but we're talking criminals here.
The exploit only works when the keyless entry transmitter is close enough. It's typically useless when you're at work or out shopping or whatever, because the transmitter is on your person and too far away. At home though, when your car is in the driveway, it is often close enough. This will certainly gain access to the interior of the vehicle for some quick snatch and grab and it could be used a second time to start and steal the vehicle outright. In the case of an outright vehicle theft, as soon as the vehicle is moved, it'll be out of range of the transmitter (which is still the the house), so it won't be able to be restarted.
Without intimate access to the transmitter or vehicle for at least 30 minutes or so, it is incredibly difficulty, if not outright impossible, to duplicate a keyless entry transmitter.
Having had the opportunity to work with the insurance industry on vehicle theft issues in the past, it would blow your mind to know all the ways vehicles are stolen that have nothing to do with electronic safeguards. Every single time I was asked to opine on a compromised immobilizer system, it always ended up being some type of mechanical exploit to move the vehicle.
I've personally known more than one person who can cut a fresh key from memory after studying it for about 3 seconds. Left your keys laying on a table? They can cut a duplicate key after just looking at it. Most locksmiths can do this. If they can learn to do it, so can a criminal. Anymore, this isn't an issue for automotive keys due to high security key designs, but it wasn't uncommon in the past.