THE Pinball Zero can reproduce in an instant the signal emitted by a vehicle key. But, is it one of the causes of the increase in car thefts in Canada? According to the authorities, yes.
No, this device is not a Tamagotchi on steroids, although the dolphin it sports is very cute. It is in fact a versatile tool that allows you to experiment with RFID, radio, NFC, infrared and Bluetooth protocols, among others. Such skills also make it an impressive hacking tool, which can help break into a car without its owner’s knowledge, to name just one example.
Reason enough to declare it persona non grataaccording to some.
A designated culprit
Do you know how many cars are reported stolen each year in Canada? According to the Canadian government, there are 90,000, or one vehicle stolen every six minutes. Two impressive figures which demonstrate an upward trend in this criminal activity since 2021.
In the crosshairs of the authorities are the Flipper Zero and other similar devices. The Ministry of Innovation, Science and Economic Development recently declared that it was studying “ all options to prohibit devices used to steal vehicles via reproduction of wireless signals allowing remote unlocking “.
An announcement supported by one of his ministers, François-Philippe Champagne, at the end of a national summit on the fight against car theft: “ I announced that we were banning the importation, sale & use of hacking devices, such as pinball machines. “. The career of the little dolphin therefore looks complicated for our Canadian friends, at least if the politicians really reach the end of the project. However, is this justified?
A 2.0 lockpicking tool?
For Flipper Devices, the American company behind the main device discriminated against here, the Canadian government is moving a little quickly. “ We would be grateful if you could provide us with evidence of Flipper Zero’s involvement in such criminal activities. », she responds to the Canadian minister on X.com (formerly Twitter). “ We are not aware of any such event and, to be frank, we are not sure of the merits of this discussion. »
At the same time, it claims that no car manufactured after the 1990s can easily be stolen using its product. In fact, Flipper Zero simply copies the signals already emitted by the keys. However, most recent vehicles use a rolling code system, which means that such a reissue technique is generally a little more complex to implement than for older models.
“ The Flipper Zero is intended for security testing and development and we have taken necessary precautions to ensure that the device cannot be used for such malicious purposes », explains Flipper Devices.
Whether right or wrong, the company is already facing a few blockages here and there. While Amazon has stopped the sale of the device on its platform in certain countries, the Brazilian authorities have banned its import throughout its territory for almost a year. The price of success, what do you want.
Source : BleepingComputer
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