When Hacks Flack For Hackproof Gizmos

Transponder override kit for Nissan (pictured) and many other OEM ignition systems can be purchased over the counter.

Reporter Tosses Cold Water on Hot Technology: One of my favorite columnists, Felix Gillette of the CJR, files a perfect example of NMM Mission Parameter No. 7: “Debunk the technological sublime.”

The media’s habit of slathering uncritical hype on whatever gizmo or widget is currently deemed worthy of “breakthrough technology” status never ceases to annoy. By the time these breakthroughs are proven to be thoroughly useless, the writers have inevitably moved on to the next great thing.

Thus, we read with pleasure an article in this month’s Wired, wherein Brad Stone, Newsweek’s Silicon Valley correspondent, revisited with a critical eye the transponder antitheft systems which became staples of high-end cars beginning in the ’90s. The technology consists of a computer chip embedded in a vehicle’s ignition key that communicates with the car’s electrical system, and without which the car won’t start (at least in theory).

When these systems debuted, the technology press, urged on by the auto industry, hailed them as an essentially unbeatable deterrent to auto theft.

In 1994, the Financial Times, for example, quoted a Ford executive hyping the transponder technology: “Without the right key it’s not possible to start the engine.”

At roughly the same time, Texas Instruments put out the first in a series of releases on PR Newswire touting their version of the transponder system (known as TIRIS). “In other words, the car will not start without the right key,” noted Texas Instruments. “TIRIS technology adds a greater level of theft protection to vehicles than current anti-theft methods. For example, the system is much easier to use than PIN-based systems that require drivers to remember and punch in a code. Unlike infrared systems, the technology cannot be overridden.”

Years later, we remained a nation convinced that as long as thieves didn’t get their hands on our keys, they weren’t going to get their hands on our transponder-protected rides. All of which left Mr. Stone of Wired somewhat puzzled when, a few years ago, his white 2003 Honda Civic, nicknamed “Honky” and outfitted with the transponder technology, disappeared from the street near his home in San Francisco.

Stone and his wife double-checked. Sure enough, they still had all three of their keys. So how had the car been stolen? The police suggested that perhaps the thieves had hauled off Honky in the back of a flatbed truck.