Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has identified an unlikely public enemy No. 1 in his new crackdown on car theft: the Flipper Zero, a $200 piece of open source hardware used to capture, analyze and interact with simple radio communications.
On Thursday, the Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada agency said it will “pursue all avenues to ban devices used to steal vehicles by copying the wireless signals for remote keyless entry, such as the Flipper Zero, which would allow for the removal of those devices from the Canadian marketplace through collaboration with law enforcement agencies.” A social media post by François-Philippe Champagne, the minister of that agency, said that as part of the push “we are banning the importation, sale and use of consumer hacking devices, like flippers, used to commit these crimes.”
In remarks made the same day, Trudeau said the push will target similar tools that he said can be used to defeat anti-theft protections built into virtually all new cars.
“In reality, it has become too easy for criminals to obtain sophisticated electronic devices that make their jobs easier,” he said. “For example, to copy car keys. It is unacceptable that it is possible to buy tools that help car theft on major online shopping platforms.”
@dangoodin
It's not just me, is it?
If "sophisticated" vehicle security systems can be defeated by relatively cheap, open-source devices, the onus is on manufacturers to improve their security.
The responsibility doesn't lie with government agencies to try and ban easily available devices.
Attempting to do so stinks of collusion with vehicle manufacturers, rather than any genuine attempt at reducing crime. It tries to put the blame on the criminal, rather than manufacturer inadequacies.
@dangoodin "It is unacceptable that it is possible to buy tools that help car theft on major online shopping platforms." He continued, "Instead of forcing car companies to do the bare minimum of using cryptography, we are going to ban a toy." :troll: (obviously a fake quote he would never say the quiet part out loud)
If you're Canadian, this is exactly the sort of thing you should email your MP to complain about. Hopefully if enough people do that we can get this nonsense stopped before useful security research tools become unavailable to Canadian security researchers.
@dangoodin He should go after the scourge of Bluetooth and WiFi and NFC. As you just pointed out, criminals use those radio signals to commit horrific acts. These signals are therefore criminal and dangerous. They should be banned on grounds of national security.
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