Researchers Uncover Method to Track Cars via Tire Sensors

Data transmissions from tire pressure sensors can be captured using low-cost equipment placed along roads to track drivers, academic researchers have demonstrated.

The Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS), which is now mandatory in vehicles worldwide for improved safety and maintenance, transmits a unique identifier in clear text, exposing the transmissions to eavesdropping and potential tracking.

Academics from Spain, Switzerland, and Luxembourg have published a research paper (PDF) on how low-cost receivers can be used to capture these unencrypted passive transmissions to infer car movement patterns.

They deployed five receivers that, for 10 weeks, captured over 6 million TPMS messages from approximately 20,000 vehicles.

Because the unique identifier transmitted by the TPMS does not change throughout the life of the tire, the researchers were able to match the signals to cars and track a set of verified cars.

“Our results show that TPMS transmissions can be used to systematically infer ...