It's not a high-end car, anyway. And for all I know, the authentication happens between the EFI unit under the bonnet and the key. And the cylinder in the column is probably armoured. And I know it does more than just unlock the steering column because that interlock is actually broken in my car. I have a good idea how electricity works, thank you (I've built things electronic), and can recast at the problem of bypassing the correct key as a security problem. And that class of situation I *am* familiar with.

Look, I'm not really interested in quite how it works because it works well enough. My previous car did not have such a system, nor an armoured cylinder and that led directly to it being a moderately popular model for theft. In the other direction, engine disabling mechanisms have gotten so good that thieves have taken to nicking the keys as well as the car. Sometimes at gun-point.

Wade.