Skip to main content

Finnish police: Keep your smart car keys in the fridge to freeze out hackers

Samsung RF23J9011SR Fridge
Bill Roberson/Digital Trends
Next time you can’t find your car keys, have a look in the fridge because you might have left them there. Police authorities in Finland are advising car owners with smart car keys to leave their keys in the fridge to avoid potential cyberattacks.

The advice comes from the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation which is informing drivers that the signal between your car and its keys cannot be intercepted when the keys are within the cold confines of a fridge. Cybercriminals with the right know-how could intercept the signal between a car lock and its key to open the door without the owner knowing.

“It sounds strange, but it makes sense,” Jari Tiiainen from the National Bureau of Investigation told Finnish national broadcaster YLE. Wrapping your key in tinfoil has a similar effect.

The security concerns for smart car keys stem from some real-life examples. In August, a security researcher found a bug in wireless keys affecting more than 100 million Volkswagen cars. It had the potential to allow a hacker to open a door by using a piece of radio hardware to intercept the signal and replicate it to open the doors of a car.

In March, German researchers showed off another method that extends the range for a keyless lock to be opened by criminals. It affected more than 19 different manufacturers. Security tinkerers in Switzerland made similar discoveries as far back as 2011.

Some security experts aren’t in agreement with the advice from Finnish police to toss your keys in the fridge, and have dismissed it as unnecessary.

Sean Sullivan from F-Secure points out that cold storage units like fridges are more likely to damage your key. If you’re worried about signal interception and someone stealing your car, he recommends keeping your keys in a Faraday bag, which blocks electric signals. It’s a slightly, more convenient method and you won’t have to explain to your roommate why there’s a car key next to the eggs.

Editors' Recommendations

Jonathan Keane
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Jonathan is a freelance technology journalist living in Dublin, Ireland. He's previously written for publications and sites…
HP Envy deals: HP’s most popular laptop starts at $630
An HP Envy 17-inch laptop sits on an office desk.

A great computer brand to shop if you’re in the market for a new laptop is HP, which is consistently among the best laptop brands. It has several different model lineups to choose from, with the HP Envy laptop lineup offering a good balance of hardware options and pricing. The HP Envy lineup is also a good one to shop because it regularly turns out some impressive laptop deals. That’s certainly the case right now, as there are a lot of HP Envy deals to shop. We’ve rounded up what we feel are the best HP Envy deals currently taking place, so read onward for more information on how to land some savings.
HP Envy x360 2-in-1 laptop 15Z-FH000 — $630, was $900

The HP Envy x360 convertible laptop is a great option for just about anyone, particularly anyone who enjoys the touchscreen functionality of a tablet. It’s well designed and super slim, making it a truly go-anywhere device. Despite its portability, it still has an immersive 15.6-inch touchscreen that’s great for creators, note-takers, and binge watchers. Top notch build quality and durability, fast charging technology, a fingerprint reader, and great battery life round out the top features of the HP Envy x360 convertible touchscreen laptop. It competes well with the best 2-in-1 laptops. Its versatility and all-around capability make it a worthy companion on any desk, and on any lap.

Read more
Best Surface Laptop and Surface Pro deals: From $450
Microsoft Surface Go 3 sitting on table.

If you want a thin and light laptop that's similar to the MacBook Air but not in the Apple ecosystem, then the Microsoft Surface lineup of laptops is absolutely the way to go. In fact, if you've seen the recent unwrapping of the business version of the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6, you might be fired up and ready to grab your own surface. Unfortunately, the Surface lineup can be quite expensive, which is why we've gone out and scoured the retailers for the best deals we could find and collected them below. So, be sure to check out everything, as well as some of these other great laptop deals if you aren't fully committed to the Microsoft Surface lineup.
Microsoft Surface Go 3 -- $450, was $550

Functioning as a 2-in-1 laptop that can switch between tablet mode and laptop mode, the Microsoft Surface Go 3 won't have trouble dealing with basic tasks as it's equipped with the Intel Pentium Gold 6500Y processor and 8GB of RAM. The 10.5-inch touchscreen with 1920 x 1080 resolution is bright and colorful, and its 128GB SSD is more than enough for your documents. The Microsoft Surface Go 3 ships with Windows 11 Home in Mode, so you can start using it as soon as you unbox it. The device also promises up to 11 hours of battery life before requiring a recharge.

Read more
Best GPU deals: MSI, XFX, EVGA
An AMD graphics card in an external GPU enclosure.

If you're building a new PC from scratch, or upgrading an old one, then a new GPU is probably one of the biggest upgrades you can make, at least if you're looking for great gaming performance. Unfortunately, the last generation of RTX 40-series cards really amped the prices up, and even if you're going for AMD, you're going to be paying a pretty penny to get your hands on a good GPU. That said, there are some good deals to be had; whether you want something budget-friendly or high-end, you can always put that extra money you save into more RAM or a better CPU. Also, be sure to check out some of these gaming PC deals if you'd rather just grab something already pre-built.
MSI AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT Mech 2X 4GB GDDR6 -- $175, was $190

If you're looking for something that is ultra-budget, then this RX 6500 XT is a good option in the lower range and should let you handle at least some of the main free-to-play games like CS:GO and Rocket League, although you will have to play with graphical compromises. It should also handle indie and casual games, especially older ones like the ones you might find on emulators, so it's also a good option for that sort of budget build. the 4GB of VRAM is not a lot, but again, if you're not planning to play any modern AAA or AA games, then this isn't a bad option.

Read more