Door Industry Journal - Winter 2016

THE door industry journal winter 2016 Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk 67 garage doors The actual security level of these openers, popular in the 1970s and 1980s, was therefore in reality, much lower than the basic maths would lead people to believe. With the average lifespan of the early, robustly made units being up to 30 years, it is easy to calculate that tens of thousands of such units are still in use today. Rolljam Signal Grabber Devices Circumvent Modern Garage Door Security As more secure frequencies were used and rolling code technology was developed by the garage door remote manufacturers such as Hörmann, Garador, Marantec, Seip, Sommer and Liftmaster, the criminals upped their game as well. Signal Grabber Devices have long since been available to defeat the technology used on most modern cars, lorries, keyless entry systems and modern garage door openers. A criminal using a signal grabber device simply sits in a car nearby and waits for the home or car owner to use their key fob. The device grabs the signal and records it. The home or car owner would notice that the signal had not been received by the car or garage door and would have to press the hand transmitter again. They would simply view the first failed press of the button as a malfunction, press again and carry on as normal. Later, the code grabber could be used to emit the captured frequency and open the car or garage. Are Modern Garage Doors Still Susceptible to Code Jammers? Even rolling code technology, now common in all the leading garage door operators, can be beaten. The criminal devices employed adopt a system, which in simple terms blocks and records the signal emitted by the press of the key fob button by the homeowner. When the handset button is initially pressed, the criminal device sends out “frequency noise” on the common frequencies used by garage door remotes hence “jamming” or scrambling the ability of the intended receiver to correctly receive the signal. A second device records this code. When the user sees that the first press has failed and presses the button again, the Rolljam device records this second code and simultaneously emits the first recorded code. The first replayed code activates the garage door and all appears normal. The captured second signal is stored by the criminal and can be used once the coast is clear to get into the garage. The good news is that the level of encryption used by companies such as Hörmann and Garador on their series 3 bi-secur rolling code garage door operators uses the same 128-bit encryption as used by the banks for the online banking. Currently, other manufacturers who use similar 128-bit encryption technology on some or all their controls are Sommer, Teckentrup and Marantec. What Actions Should You Take? The reassuring common sense lesson from the rather sobering facts above about the hacking of garage door rolling code remote control systems is that statistically such entry methods are very rarely used by criminals. Most break-ins on garage doors are targeted at old style manual or automatic up and over garage doors. Doors with a single sprung latch at the top centre of the up and over door can easily be forced inwards with moderate force or levered with a screwdriver, a more readily available criminal tool than an electric signal jammer, recorder and emitter. Alex MacKay, Hörmann UK’s technical expert said: “Code grabbers sold online to low end criminals for getting into garages and cars will not work on Hörmann motors. The level of encryption used is the same level as bank cash machines. Criminals who can hack cash machines and banks generally don’t bother even trying to get into people’s garages to steal tools or bikes.” Sales opportunities As a dealer, you probably have an archive of customers with older automated garage doors or shutters, so it may be worth doing some promotional work and special offers to get them to update either their old radio controls or the operator itself. And for manual doors susceptible to forced entry, a special offer to either automate the existing door or replace it with a model fitted with higher security would undoubtedly lead to increased sales. Whether customers need to do this or not depends on what they are prepared to lose. If they store tools or there is an access door from their garage into the house, then the cost of improving their garage door security could prove worthwhile. A survey by the RAC 1 in May 2014 revealed that 62% of car owners do not park their car in the garage anymore and an article by Ecclesiastical Insurance 2 reveals that homeowners keep goods in their garage worth around £2500. Author: Mark Arridge, www.arridgegaragedoors.co.uk Sources: 1: https://goo.gl/zHoI3V 2: https://goo.gl/8OA6cI