Tire pressure sensors are a huge privacy risk

Tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) have been mandatory in U.S. cars since 2007. The sensors sit inside each wheel, measure pressure, and wirelessly transmit data to the vehicle's onboard computer. A paper from researchers at IMDEA Networks Institute found that this wireless link has virtually no security and turns every car on the road into a trackable beacon.

The core problem: each sensor broadcasts a fixed, unique ID number in unencrypted radio signals. Anyone with a cheap receiver can capture that ID and recognize the same car later. Unlike license plate cameras, which need a clear line of sight, TPMS signals pass through walls and other vehicles. That makes them, as the researchers put it, "cheaper, harder to detect, and more difficult to avoid than camera-based surveillance."

The team tested this with receivers costing about $100 each and was able to track specific vehicles passively — even when moving, behind obstructions, and from more than 50 meters away. The paper concludes by "urg[ing] legislators, policymakers, and manufacturers to take the necessary steps to improve the privacy and security of the pressure monitoring system."

Previously:
• Apple adds privacy-protecting MAC spoofing (when Aaron Swartz did it, it was evidence of criminality)
• This free VPN is a massive security risk
• Government quietly builds massive database tracking all US citizens