Security experts are getting inside the minds of increasingly sophisticated thieves in a bid to protect drivers from car crime.
The hi-tech tricks of the trade of a new breed of car-jackers were demonstrated at the Hack in a Box conference, held at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Dubai, as well as the efforts being made to counter them.
Senior officials from a variety of security firms showed just how easy - and cheap - it can be to break into expensive modern cars and even control them remotely.
A team from Chinese security firm Qihoo showed how they could break into a car using a device they built for just Dh80, a considerably cheaper alternative to previous key cloning devices.
They revealed the ease at which thieves can slip under a vehicle’s security system to potentially steal it or override its safety controls.
“Vehicle systems use immobilizers to protect them from theft, by using specific numbers delivered by a key fob,” said Robert Leale, a senior engineer at Intrepid Control Systems.
“If you know those numbers you can pretend the key is in the vehicle and get the vehicle to start itself. And we can find those numbers by searching some vehicles schematics online.
“Another way is to send data from a laptop to a non-learned key fob to link to the car to give access, and they can be bought cheaply on EBay or from a vehicle dealer.”
Simple techniques like cloning key fobs, and accessing a vehicle’s computer system via a laptop, is becoming easier as more of a modern car’s controls are linked to a central on-board computer.
A Jeep 4x4 vehicle was used in the Hack in the Box conference demonstration, but experts said any vehicle was equally vulnerable to attack.
“It has been known for a number of years that cars have telematics that are easy to access with the right know-how,” said Eddie Schwartz, executive vice president of Cyber Services at DarkMatter.
“We see vendors building more systems that makes them more reliant on a car’s computer, making them even more at risk to hackers.
“They are not necessarily building security systems around that, it is often just access from a key fob, with no biometrics required such as facial recognition.”
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Vehicle control systems can access brakes, fuel lines and airbags – so the possibility increases for disruption, particularly when these systems become tied to smart cities of the future when autonomous transport becomes mainstream.
The basic computer skills required to hack a work station, office server or network device are the same as hacking a car system.
Mr Schwartz said adding a second stage authentication for the driver, such as a pin code to start a vehicle, would help reduce a car’s vulnerability.
“The nuances are finding out which system is relevant to a particular model of car, and that information is available online through training programmes for vehicle technicians,” he said.
It is causing a big issue for manufacturers who have to ramp up their security skills to try and stay a step ahead of car criminals.
One hacker, who did not want to give his name, said all cars were vulnerable to attack.
“If you know the right language, you can easily talk to cars over the internet and basically control them remotely,” he said.
“We can do simple things like alter the reading on a fuel gauge, or even cause the car to accelerate or brake.
“I can even access cruise control.
“It shows there is a lot of work to be done before autonomous vehicles can be controlled safely within a secure network.”
The specs: 2018 Renault Megane
Price, base / as tested Dh52,900 / Dh59,200
Engine 1.6L in-line four-cylinder
Transmission Continuously variable transmission
Power 115hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 156Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.6L / 100km
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
Family reunited
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.
She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.
She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.
The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.
She was held in her native country a year later.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 178hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 280Nm at 1,350-4,200rpm
Transmission: seven-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: from Dh209,000
On sale: now
THE BIO
Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren
Favourite travel destination: Switzerland
Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers
Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Company%C2%A0profile
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures
October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA
Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
