Security in the hands of a smartphone: the first car without keys is on its way

In the beginning, we had keys that were able to remotely unlock the car’s doors when the button was pressed, today it is almost a universal function. Then came the car system without keys, thanks to which you do not even need to get the key out of your pocket, because He remotely “communicates” with the machine in order to open the doors and start the engine by pressing a button on the front panel. Currently, most companies already offer this technology, although it is only available for expensive cars in more expensive models or as an additional option for a special price.



Soon open the doors and start the engine for cars without keys can be using the application on your smartphone. At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Volvo announced that it will launch the first line of of such cars in 2017, although the tests will begin this year at Sunfleet, which is located in the airport of Gothenburg (Sweden) and leases cars.

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There are also other similar projects (for example, Tesla cars can be opened using the application if the owner of the car has lost his key), although the Volvo project is the first project that already has the launch date indicated and within which it is planned to complete discard physical keys.



As was shown at an event in Spain and demonstrated in the company's videos, the Volvo digital key application will be available for the three most popular operating systems (Android, iOS and Windows Phone), and thanks to Bluetooth technology, all functions will be provided, like when using remote or physical keys: opening or closing doors, starting the engine, etc.







In terms of convenience, the advantages of the car, which can be opened and started from the phone, are quite obvious. Moreover, this approach allows you to control more than one car, which will be very convenient and useful for companies that provide cars for rent, for families with several cars or for any person who can sometimes take the car from his friend.



Nevertheless, when technical progress allows us to transfer more and more control functions to the telephone, the issue of security becomes more and more urgent. The “hottest” question is quite obvious: will it be easier or harder to steal such a car without keys?



Today, smart keys have already raised similar questions (as well as remote keys that have been with us since the 90s, raised similar questions in due time). For many years, police and independent researchers have warned about the wider use of IT tools to steal vehicles with such systems.



Unfortunately, there are several different ways to attack machines without keys : devices that exploit vulnerabilities and simulate remote alarm consoles, which give a command to open a car from a much greater distance, alarm blockers that do not allow a car owner to shut down his car ... And without saying about a significant number of people who prefer not to turn off the car until they leave it.



In the light of all these factors, it may seem that the transfer of control functions for opening the car’s doors and starting the engine to the smartphone can only aggravate the problem, although it makes sense to listen to the experts: “Until now, the most common way of car theft is entering a house thief and stealing keys. Keys are still the weakest link in the car's safety chain. If someone has your keys, then they have your car. ”

Perhaps the application is not such a bad idea.