Researchers Show Tire Sensors Can Be Used to Track Cars
Summary
Researchers used low-cost receivers to capture unencrypted tire pressure sensor transmissions and track vehicles. They warn the signals could reveal driving patterns and potentially enable targeted tracking or spoofed alerts.
Key points
- TPMS sensors transmit a unique identifier in clear text that reportedly remains unchanged throughout a tire’s life.
- Researchers used five receivers over 10 weeks to capture more than 6 million messages from approximately 20,000 vehicles.
- The researchers say the signals allowed them to match transmissions to verified cars and infer movement patterns.
- Each receiver cost roughly $100, according to the researchers.
- Researchers warn that attackers could use the signals for mass or targeted tracking, or spoof alerts to trucks to force stops.
Article Details
- Event Type
- Academic research demonstration of vehicle tracking through unencrypted tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) transmissions
- Impact
- Researchers demonstrated that TPMS messages containing persistent unique identifiers can be captured with low-cost receivers to track vehicles and infer movement patterns. They warned that attackers could use scaled-up passive tracking or spoof sensor signals to send fake flat-tire alerts and potentially force trucks to stop for cargo theft; these attack scenarios are presented as possibilities, not reported incidents.