Criminals are getting more sophisticated and now they no longer steal cars “on the suitcase”, they use a game-like tool.
Bag theft is a thing of the past
We’ve heard about car theft “on a suitcase” for several years, when keyless entry systems for cars became popular. The work of the thieves was simple, it was enough to approach the person holding the car key and send the digital signal from a distance to the other person who was standing next to the car. After a few seconds, the car not only opened, but also started. For safety reasons, even if the signal transmission stops, the car will not turn off, but will only display a warning message. Now, however, the criminals have gone one step further.
Now the auto theft is supposed to take place “on the GameBoy”, although it’s really just a house that’s supposed to make the car theft device look like a regular game. As you can see in the image below, at first glance, it is difficult to distinguish this gadget from the popular portable console. However, once it was launched, it turned out to be a tool for hacking access tokens of many famous brands. The device first appeared in Bulgaria and was officially available for 20 thousand euros. However, he soon disappeared from this sale, and the policemen of different countries at first did not realize that such an inconspicuous game could be used to steal cars.
The modified Game Boy appears to take advantage of Texas Instruments’ security vulnerabilities found in Mitsubishi, Toyota, Kia and Hyundai vehicles. There is even a YouTube video from West Yorkshire, UK police caught robbing Mitsubishi Outlanders. Thieves looted about 30 cars before stopping them. It turns out that they use a Bulgarian solution that allows not only to unlock the car but also to start it by simulating the presence of the key.
How do you protect yourself from theft?
Unfortunately, it is difficult to protect yourself from this type of theft. It is not enough to wrap the switch in aluminum foil, because the switch is not really necessary. It becomes necessary to use an additional ignition control system or an additional alarm. Fortunately, you can order such a system at the stage of buying a new car in the showroom. However, I’m afraid the automakers will always be a bit behind the criminals’ chances.
Source: cars world
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