Vulnerability of remote keyless-entry systems against pulsed electromagnetic interference and possible improvements

Remote keyless-entry systems are systems that are widely used to control access to vehicles or buildings. The system is increasingly secured against hacking attacks by use of encryption and code algorithms. However, there are effective hacker attacks that rely on jamming the wireless link from the key fob to the receiver, while the attacker is able to receive the signal from the key fob. In this paper, we show that typical envelope receivers that are often used in remote keyless-entry systems are highly vulnerable to pulsed interference as compared to continuous interference. The effects of pulsed interference on envelope detectors are analyzed through both simulations and measurements. An improved receiver design would use synchronous receivers instead, which are not very sensitive against pulsed interference.