May 17, 2022 – The cybersecurity firm NCC Group just demonstrated that millions of locks worldwide can be unlocked by hackers using a vulnerability in Bluetooth technology, and a Tesla was the company’s prime example.
Tesla vehicles, like the Model 3 and Model Y, use a technology called Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) that allows owners to unlock and operate their vehicles via their phones within a short range of the vehicle.
They don’t require any user interaction with the device to do so. As for the vulnerability, all the hardware you need to hack/break into and drive these cars away is easily found, for the NCC Group says it only requires “cheap off-the-shelf hardware” to hack a car or device using BLE technology from anywhere in the world. Yes, this hack is doable from anywhere — the hacker doesn’t need to be standing in your driveway to gain access.