Key Fob Sleep Mode - You're going to LOVE this!

[Bruno]

So - do the keys sleep or do we need to get a special box

It would be funny if there was some way to detect their signal, and brick their computer with a counter signal....

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[helifino16]

Any reported cases of cloning the Ford key fobs remotely?

What I'm hearing is that's how they make new keys up for you - at the dealer and at most Locksmith shops. So it's a common tool.

 

[swooshdave]

What I'm hearing is that's how they make new keys up for you - at the dealer and at most Locksmith shops. So it's a common tool.

What I mean is there actual cases of someone remotely duplicating your fob and stealing your car.

 

[helifino16]

What I mean is there actual cases of someone remotely duplicating your fob and stealing your car.

Well, the hope is that this 'sleep mode' will aid in the prevention of that. I was wondering why there was so much talk about Faraday Pouches for Key Fobs.

 

[Yukon65006]

Any reported cases of cloning the Ford key fobs remotely?

So far only reported cases I have seen are in the movies. I have a roll of 0.94mil foil on order for wrapping the bronco.

 

[broadicustomworks]

What I mean is there actual cases of someone remotely duplicating your fob and stealing your car.

 

[Deleted User 5719102]

FYI, the LUX High and LUX package remote has a higher output/distance than the STD and Mid remotes.

Edit: Found the remote difference occurs starting at the High package.

This is inaccurate, the difference in signal with the 2 types is directly related to remote start and non remote start key fobs. And that is a build option, not a High or Lux only option.

 

[swooshdave]

So no and someone is making a ton off $10 bags that don't do much...

 

[mtclimb3r]

Faraday pouches seem smart if you are locking your key in the car. However, I think I trust the external keypad a LOT less than the key fob. Functionally the same signal and removable. Anyone in IT can tell you physical access to a system is game over in most cases. I can imagine a tool exists to hook into the circuit board of the external key panel to check all combos or spoof the signal somehow.

 

[Tex]

Ford key fobs have some serious rolling codes. Nobody in the locksport/pen testing communities that I'm a part of have been able to duplicate the code more than once, even with vehicles that are over a decade old or more at this point. They could get a signal to replicate your key long enough to open the door, but if they ask the vehicle to do anything beyond that like starting it, they need another code generated for that operation. When you unlock the door, the vehicle tells the fob to roll to the next code, and that last code is no longer valid. When you hit the start button, the vehicle tells the fob to roll to the next code with its own rolling code, then listens to the fob for that next code that should match the same encryption, and until it does, it'll give you the no key detected message. It's a two-way encrypted signal. What that means is they would have to replicate the first code that the key fob announces to unlock the door, not terribly difficult if the fob is in your pocket and you're walking away, I've personally done it with my own stuff. In order to start the vehicle, they would have to spoof your vehicle's query signal (an encrypted rolling signal itself) to make the key fob generate another encrypted code to start it, out of range of the vehicle itself (if the vehicle hears it, then the code they swiped is useless to them). Once they have that code, they would need another one to take it out of park and drive it...you see where this is going.

Someone would not only require the hardware to intercept your fob but also the ability to start two-way encrypted communication with the fob without you or your vehicle knowing, and then some rather high end software in order to crack the encryption from only two intercepted codes. It would be a little easier if there were more than two codes to work with, but getting those extra codes is its own challenge. That's a nearly insurmountable task, but somewhere, someone out there may be working on a way to do it or find some other exploit to use. The odds really are in your favor though, especially given the fact that the fob is not constantly transmitting (Ford does this to save battery life, but it just so happens that it also aids in security). There are far more exotic and expensive vehicles to steal than yours if they're going through that kind of trouble. Honestly it's probably a lot easier to gain physical access to your cell phone and get your FordPass credentials installed on their phone, compared to cracking a key fob.

The more likely scenario is that someone would be working at Ford in a rather shady or unsecure dealership, and is able to program a fob by VIN without having one of the fobs available. Or, someone gains access to that software via Ford and pulls your code from their database. Your vehicle security is only as good as the most vulnerable dealership in the country, and only as good as the database your codes are stored on. But at that point, it wouldn't do you any good to hide your fob in a faraday cage regardless, as they wouldn't need your fob for anything at that point. Chances are, this is how people are stealing vehicles without keys or key fobs, not by spoofing or cloning existing fobs.

The keypad is technically a vulnerability, given how you can literally just rip it off the vehicle and take it home to play with at your discretion, but it's only useful for unlocking doors. It won't provide codes that can be used to start the vehicle as that's a separate signal that they'd have to decode too.

TL;DR no, don't bother with a faraday cage unless it compliments your tinfoil hat. And if you find that your keypad was ripped off your Bronco, maybe contact your dealership about what kind of security measures they could take in response.

 

[FleshTuxedo]

I can leave the key fob on the floor of my detached garage directly above my Bronco and still not be able to unlock the doors.

but @Tex sounds much more knowledgeable about this

 

[Tex]

I can leave the key fob on the floor of my detached garage directly above my Bronco and still not be able to unlock the doors.

but @Tex sounds much more knowledgeable about this

I can leave my fob in my pocket and still not be able to unlock my doors, extended range my ass.
Well...it probably is my ass getting in the way, but still.

 

[FleshTuxedo]

Wait... which pocket.

 

[Tex]

Wait... which pocket.

That is classified information good sir

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