Tesla is working on a new keychain with automatic unlock and power based on the new UWB technology that is “immune to relay attacks”.
Tesla and relay attacks
Theft of Tesla vehicles is quite rare in North America, but in Europe, they have some more sophisticated thieves who managed a series of Tesla vehicle thefts through relay attacks, and most vehicles have not been recovered.
A relay attack usually consists of using a device that relays the signal from a nearby keyring to unlock a vehicle.
In response to these attacks, Tesla began rolling out extra layers of security with an “enhanced encryption” keychain and the optional “PIN for drive” feature.
Tesla has since been working to improve its security – even through software updates at the keyring level.
Tesla is now adopting UWB
Tesla is now looking to add another layer of security.
According to a new process with the FCC, Tesla is integrating a new single Impulse chip “Radio Ultra Wideband” (IR – UWB), better known as UWB, inside its new keyring.
Tesla wrote in the new FCC file:
The primary purpose of a UWB range device is to provide a distance estimate, which serves as a narrow upper limit for the actual distance between a sender and a receiver. In other words, the estimated distance is close to the actual distance and may be greater than the actual distance, but not less. In the context of PKE, this means that the key is not further from the car than the estimated distance. The distance estimate is based on the measurement of flight time and is immune to relay attacks. This dramatically improves the security of the PHY layer compared to an distance measurement based on RSSI, which is susceptible to attacks on relay stations.
A UWB receiver can provide an accurate distance estimate when there is a direct line of sight (LOS) propagation path between the sender and the receiver. All other propagation paths are caused by reflections, so they have a longer flight time and will lead to a more flexible upper limit for distance.
Here is the complete new Tesla file:
This new technology would be linked to a new keyring, but several phone manufacturers are also adopting it, meaning that it could be implemented in Tesla’s key phone feature.
As we reported last week, Tesla is making its phone application the primary key for Model S and Model X with the new updated design, and the application is already the primary key for Model 3 and Model Y.
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