Tesla is working on a new keychain with automatic unlocking and power based on the new UWB technology that is ‘immune to the relay attacks’.
Tesla and relay attacks
Theft of Tesla vehicles is fairly rare in North America, but in Europe they have some more sophisticated thieves who manage a series of thefts of Tesla vehicles through redemption attacks, and most vehicles have not been recovered.
A relay attack usually consists of using a device that delivers the signal from a nearby key assistant to unlock a vehicle.
In response to these attacks, Tesla began rolling out extra security layers with an “enhanced cryptography” key and optional ‘PIN to Drive’ feature.
Tesla has been working ever since to improve its security – even through key-level software updates.
Tesla now adopts UWB
Now Tesla wants to add another layer of security.
According to new documentation from the FCC, Tesla is integrating a new single chip Impulse ‘Radio Ultra Wideband’ (IR – UWB), better known as UWB, into its new keychain.
Tesla writes in the new FCC submission:
The main purpose of a UWB device is to compile a distance estimate that serves as a close boundary for the actual distance between a transmitter and a receiver. In other words, the distance estimate is close to the actual distance and may be longer than the actual distance, but not shorter. In the PKE context, this means that the key is not further from the car than the estimated distance. The distance estimate is based on a measurement of the time of flight, and is immune to attacks. This drastically improves the PHY layer protection compared to an RSSI-based distance measurement, which is susceptible to relay stations.
A UWB receiver can give an accurate distance estimate if there is a direct distribution path (LOS) between the transmitter and the receiver. All other propagation paths are caused by reflections, so have a longer flight time and will result in a looser upper limit for the distance.
Here is the new Tesla submission in full:
This new technology will be linked to a new keychain, but several phone manufacturers are adopting it as well, which means it could be implemented on Tesla’s phone key feature.
As we reported last week, Tesla is making its phone app the master key for Model S and Model X with the newly updated design, and the app is already the master key for Model 3 and Model Y.
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