Keyless entry systems used to be fitted only to upmarket luxury models and were targeted by car thieves. Now, however, popular cars with such systems are also targeted after crooks realized how easy it is to crack such systems. The question is: What can car companies do to protect consumers from this new plague of thefts?
The problem is described by British insurance companies as “epidemic” running at more than one car a week stolen for the past year. The problem has been known since 2011. Thieves buy hand-held computer devices programed in China and Eastern Europe and sold online. They hack into vehicles’ systems and program blank key fobs.
Many manufacturers are replacing the traditional key and ignition barrel with keyless systems that use radio waves to exchange code between key fob and car. Owners do not even have to take the fob out of their pockets to open the door. The vehicle can be started with a push of a button.
The only advice given by police is to protect cars with old fashioned steering locks that were widely used in the 1980s. Makers of the steering-lock devices confirm demand is soaring from drivers of keyless cars. Police have also started to stop drivers of expensive keyless models to check the car has not been stolen.
This problem may not have reached KSA or the Gulf yet, but it is worth taking precautions if your car is of the keyless kind. In Britain, after years of falling car thefts, the trend is on the rise again. Last year, more than 22,000 cars were stolen, representing a rise of 6.5 percent on the previous year. In some areas in the north of England car thefts have doubled in the past year.
Some carmakers blame the EU Commission for forcing them to fit diagnostic ports that allow third-party access, so that franchised dealers don’t have monopoly on servicing and repairs. Car companies are working to improve the keyless systems but have a long way to go yet.
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* Adel Murad is a senior motoring and business journalist, based in London.
Email: [email protected]
