February 9, 2024 at 02:30PM
The Canadian government is banning the Flipper Zero and similar devices due to concerns about their potential use in stealing cars. The portable pen-testing tool has been demonstrated to conduct replay attacks, leading to worries about increasing car theft. Despite the manufacturer’s assurance that it can’t target cars produced after the 1990s, the government is pursuing a ban.
It appears that the Canadian government plans to ban the Flipper Zero and similar devices, regarding them as tools that thieves can use to steal cars. According to Canadian Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, the government will ban the importation, sale, and use of consumer hacking devices like the Flipper, in response to a surge in car theft. The Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) department will collaborate with law enforcement agencies to remove such devices from the Canadian marketplace. However, Flipper Devices, the company behind the Flipper Zero, asserts that the gadget cannot be used to steal vehicles built after the 1990s due to their security systems with rolling codes. They claim that the device is intended for security testing and development and has taken necessary precautions to prevent its use for nefarious purposes. Additionally, Amazon has banned the sale of the Flipper Zero since April 2023 for allegedly being a card skimming device, and the Brazilian National Telecommunications Agency has seized incoming Flipper Zero purchases due to its alleged use by criminals.