Your Car Tire Pressure Sensors Pose An Unexpected Privacy Threat, Study Finds

Modern vehicle computer systems have become vectors for security and privacy hacking. However, who would've thought that the humble and not-very-high-tech tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) would be identified as vulnerability gateway?

Basically, each TPMS relies on radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted by the small sensors located inside a car’s wheels, communicating tire pressure data to the vehicle’s ECU at set intervals. However, security researchers at Instituto Madrileño De Estudios Avanzados (IMDEA) have demonstrated that these transmissions are frequently unencrypted and lack basic authentication protocols. Because each sensor has a unique identification code to prevent it from being confused with the car in the next lane, a vehicle effectively broadcasts a digital fingerprint to anyone with a low-cost radio receiver. In fact, the IMDEA team proved this by building a network of receivers costing $100 each and was ultimately able to capture 6 million tire sensor pings ...