Modern cars are not as secure as you might think

If you’ve ever  locked yourself out of your mobile banking app, it would be natural to assume that it takes the finest minds at NASA to get past the electronic security of a modern car. Unfortunately, for every one small step the good guys make, criminal gangs are never far behind. As soon as any new tech is applied to making vehicles more secure, criminals embrace the same technology (and increasingly are using AI) to find ways to steal your car. Let’s look at the most common ways modern, keyless cars are stolen.

Relay attacks

Cars that only require the electronic key to be in close proximity to the vehicle to unlock and start it can be stolen using a technique called a relay  attack. Using devices that can be bought online for as little as £100, thieves stand outside your home and relay the signal from your key to another thief standing by your car. The signal from your key is amplified so the car thinks your key is just outside it. Hello, open doors and engine starting. Goodbye, nice new car. And since you know your car keys are in the bowl by the front door, you don’t think anything when you hear a car starting outside.

Key cloning

Unlike a physical metal key, thieves can clone your car key without touching it. They simply intercept the signals between key and car and use this to make a clone.

Signal jammers

Jamming the signal between your key and car leaves your car unlocked, allowing thieves access and free to employ other techniques such as OBD exploitation(see below). The next time you are in car park, observe how many people walk away from their car distracted by a conversation or their mobile phone. Thieves rely on these distractions keeping us from double checking that we’ve locked the car. Add in a heavy rainfall and you have the ultimate distraction as people hurry to cover.

OBD exploitation

An OBD port is the On Board Diagnostic port that allows technicians to connect a laptop to your car and read off diagnostic information that helps find faults with the vehicle. Unfortunately, the OBD port allows information to be uploaded into your cars computer brain as well as reading from it. This allows criminals to reprogram your car so that their existing key can be used with the vehicle. Since the OBD port is inside the car, this type of theft is often preceded by signal jamming that prevents you form locking your car.

Is any car truly theft-proof?

The simple answer is that no car will ever be 100% theft-proof. The most effective way to ensure you keep hold of your car is to fit a Coyote Secure tracker. Coyote Secure’s patented Traquer® technology penetrates concrete and underground car parks, and even metal shipping containers. If your car is stolen, our Europe-wide team on detective begin searching for it as soon as you report it to us, liaising with local Police to recover your car to your home. 91% of cars fitted with Coyote Secure are recovered withing 48 hours.

We are offering free Coyote tracking devices worth £300, fully fitted by our authorised technicians for only £99. A Coyote Secure subscription costs just £19.99 per month. To order yours, simply click here.