"As technology has advanced, so too has the range of what can be classified as a car key - which can increasingly refer to a device capable of operating with a keyless ignition system. The idea of being able to start a car just by pressing a button has its own appeal, but it can also come at a significant (and literal) cost."
"In a recent article for The Mercury News, Nate Gartrell chronicled a series of Bay Area car thefts that exploited keyless entry and starting systems. What is especially notable about this series of crimes is the ease of access to the technology involved. In other words, a device that costs less than $100 was used to drive away with a car worth hundreds of times that amount."
"A California state law that passed earlier this year may address this phenomenon. Assembly Bill 486 will add both "key programming device or key duplicating device" and "signal extender" to a list of tools for which possession can result in a misdemeanor when someone intends to use them in a burglary. (Though that also seems to create some legal grey areas that could affect people who have legitimate reasons to own key reprogrammers.)"
Keyless-entry and push-button ignition systems expand what counts as a car key to include electronic devices. Bay Area thieves exploited those systems using inexpensive digital key reprogrammers and signal extenders, converting devices under $100 into tools to steal high-value vehicles. Law enforcement linked multiple thefts to the use of such devices and identified suspects after online posts listing stolen cars. California passed Assembly Bill 486 to add key programming and signal-extending devices to tools whose possession with intent to commit burglary can be a misdemeanor. The law may create grey areas for legitimate owners of reprogrammers. The deterrent effect remains uncertain.
Read at InsideHook
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