Fed II Star - May 14, 2006 - Official News 8

REAL LIFE NEWS: HONEYPOT CARS

In the world of computer security, a honeypot is a computer that has been specially set up to attract hackers. The security chaps who set up the honeypot can monitor the activity of the bad guys, watch the methods they use to break security, and sometimes backtrack them to find out who they are.

Now honeypots are starting to be used out in the real world, with police using honeypot cars to catch car thieves. Cars are left out in car-theft prone areas, sometimes with the keys still in the ignition, and are monitored by police either in person or remotely using a hidden video camera in the car.

What happens next depends on what kind of car thieves the cops are after. For the basic joy-riders, the car doors can be remotely locked so the thief can't get out until released by a cop; the car engine can also be made to cut out after 100 yards or so, to prevent the thief getting very far.

To catch the gangs that break up cars for their parts, something more sophisticated is required. Those thieves are aware that sometimes cars are fitted with "lo-jack" systems which can track their positions using GPS if they have been reported stolen, so they drive the cars off to a car-park somewhere and leave them for a couple of days to see if they get found; if the cars are still there, then they get taken to the workshop to be dismantled.

Since the police want to catch the people at the workshop rather than the stooges who steal the cars in the first place, they can track the honeypot cars and wait until they arrive at the workshop; the GPS systems will give them the location and they can storm in and arrest everyone.

No doubt criminals will soon find a way to foil this method - as with many areas of crime, there is a constant arms race in car theft!