The Canadian government appears set to ban the import, sale, and use of the versatile hacking tool Flipper Zero to combat car thefts. This emerges from an X report published by the Canadian Minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry on Thursday, confirmed by a press release from the Canadian government.
The government is taking “immediate action to combat auto theft,” the statement said. This includes measures to ban devices “used for vehicle theft by copying wireless signals for keyless access to vehicles, such as the Flipper Zero.”
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The Flipper Zero is a mobile and programmable device for conducting penetration tests. It features various interfaces for communication with other devices, such as Bluetooth, RFID, NFC, infrared, and various sub-1-GHz frequencies. The Flipper Zero recently gained attention because it can generate annoying pop-ups on smartphones and computers via Bluetooth.
Read Also: Flipper Zero Explained, Overview, Usage, Features & Technical Specification
Vehicle Theft Allegedly Not Possible
Alex Kulagin, COO of Flipper Devices, criticizes the ban in Canada. The Flipper Zero cannot be used to steal vehicles, “especially not those manufactured after the 1990s, as their security systems have rolling codes,” he told Gizmodo. The device is intended for security testing and development, and the manufacturer has taken precautions to ensure it cannot be used for malicious purposes.
While there are several videos online allegedly showing vehicles being unlocked using a Flipper Zero, according to Kulagin, these are usually staged videos or attacks on “very old vehicles.”
That feeling when your @FlipperZero0 replicates my McLaren key fob and unlocks my car 🤣🤣🤣 @icona_p0p pic.twitter.com/0yqGIPoR1V
— Lina (@d0rkph0enix) September 25, 2022
Even if an attacker were able to intercept the key signal and unlock the vehicle, they still couldn’t start the car with the Flipper Zero. “For any modern vehicle with rolling codes, it is practically useless,” Kulagin said.
Criticism For Flipper Zero Also Comes From Other Directions
However, Kulagin is not the only one critical of the Flipper Zero ban in Canada. “You can also use screwdrivers to steal cars,” writes one user on X.
You can use screwdrivers to steal cars too. Does this mean you intend to make sure Canadians don't have access to any digital tools.? Do you have any idea how this impacts the development of digital technologies and industry?
— dragosr (@dragosr) February 9, 2024
Another X user warns that the Flipper and similar tools are merely simple ARM processors equipped with a range of sensors.
If you knew anything about technology you would know the flipper and others are just simple ARM processors with basic sensors attached. Nothing ground breaking this will not stop a thing but makes it look like your doing something. The trick of politicians everywhere and it is…
— Adam Taylor (@ATaylorFPGA) February 9, 2024
Indeed, a Raspberry Pi could be used for similar purposes with some tinkering. Whether the Canadian government will also ban the popular single-board computer remains questionable.
Canada is not the first country to take action against Flipper Zero. Brazilian authorities began confiscating the hacking tools in the spring of 2023. These tools could be used not only by security researchers but also by criminals, the argument goes.
Read Also:
The Flipper Zero Can Flood Your iPhone and Android with Spam. But There’s a (Simple) Way to Stop It
