Hot wiring of cars is so overtaken by the time today that no car thief tries it anymore. Car security and technology has evolved rapidly, and so have the tools that car thieves use to steal cars today; these have become more high tech.
Thieves are today employing several digital tools to disable car alarms and turn on their ignition. This issue has created a need for collaboration between car manufacturers, insurance crime bureaus, and public law enforcement.
There have been interesting car theft cases in places like the Land Rover and Range Rover gang operating in London between 2014 and 2015. Other reports have brought to light incidences of devices used to hijack a car’s fob signal so as to unlock a car door. These nefarious developments in car theft have led to several start-ups’ focusing on car prevention and intrusion detection systems from hackers. The car industry will host in Detroit, this year, the fifth automotive cyber security summit.
Cloning key fobs
Many car owners call a locksmith when they lose their car keys with transponders on them. Thieves, therefore, collaborate with locksmith’s to gain access to your system and duplicate car access tools. In addition, thieves can use booster signals that use a signal pattern from your key and fools your car to thinking that the engine is running and authorization to open front doors granted. Few countermeasures to this hack exist, especially for the determined thief. To deter this kind of intrusion, one can place the key in a faraday cage. The Faraday cage dissipates all electric signals and stops boosters from working.
Jamming
This is by far one of the most successful nefarious developments in use by car thieves. A car thief could simply block your car signal from the key fob to your car. You could, therefore, be fooled into thinking that you locked your car while it’s a sitting duck on the car park or anywhere else for any person to come, jump in and drive away. Jamming devices are sold in the open market and are as affordable as £25. The only way to deter this kind of theft is to double check the doors of your car, especially when in large car parks.
Scanners
Scanner boxes are being used to capture a car’s entry system allowing you to capture code and send it through the locking system, in the same manner, it is sent through the key fob. Some even more advanced systems could be used to start the car whose system has been captured; fortunately, very few cases have been reported having been used to steal cars this way. To stay clear of this theft strategy needs you to update your system regularly.
Immobiliser
Immobiliser chips fitted in cars come with several vulnerabilities that can be exploited by a car thief, especially with the scanning technology. By intercepting signals between the car and the locking system, the thief can easily disarm the immobiliser. By doing this, a thief can easily take away the vital security barriers that can stop stealing your car. To defeat this ploy needs you to know the specific chip on your car and resolve whether it has such vulnerabilities that can be exploited by hackers.
It is necessary to be a proactive car owner and make several checks to ensure the safety of your car. It is wiser to even bolster your security by using steering wheel locks and handbrake locks with an extra layer of security. Such strategies will make you lesser of a target as thieves are opportunists.
