Hacking Hyundai/Kia with a hammer & a popsicle stick: technical details of the famous disaster. 🚘🔨🍭🤡💨
An interesting technical summary of the famous Hyundai/Kia immobilizer issue was released last month by researchers from AutoSafe. They did a huge amount of work collecting technical evidence and documenting different kinds of attacks.
Context: In 2021–2022, social media was full of 30-second manuals showing how to steal Hyundai and Kia cars. Many cars were stolen and damaged “just for fun,” and people were hurt in the process.
According to the authors of the report, the disaster of the Hyundai/Kia theft happened because of two major flaws:
🔨 Anti-theft system that was triggered by door opening, but not triggered by engine start event
🔑 Ignition cylinder that was made from plastic and not from metal
Which led to the trivial bypass: break the window and turn the key. Sometimes - using a popsicle stick.
A sad and sometimes scary read, especially keeping in mind the damage done so far. Regardless of the industry you work in, this is a good document to learn from.
More details:
Flawed Logic: The Hyundai Anti-Theft Campaign
Claims [PDF]: https://autosafeamerica.com/claims.pdf
Defects [PDF]: https://autosafeamerica.com/defects.pdf
