How 'Smart Keys' Have Fueled a New Wave of Car Thefts

'One London resident watched on CCTV as a thief walked up to his £40,000 car and drove away,' reports the Observer. 'Now manufacturers say they are being drawn in to a hi-tech 'arms race' with criminals.'

[H]i-tech devices disguised as handheld games consoles are being traded online for thousands of pounds and are used by organised crime gangs to mimic the electronic key on an Ioniq 5, opening the doors and starting the engine. The device, known as an 'emulator', works by intercepting a signal from the car, which is scanning for the presence of a legitimate key, and sending back a signal to gain access to the vehicle...

Hyundai says it is looking at measures to prevent the use of emulators 'as a priority'. But it is not the only carmaker whose vehicles appear to be vulnerable. An Observer investigation found that models by Toyota, Lexus and Kia have also been targeted... British motorists now face an increase in the number of thefts and rising insurance premiums... Car thefts are at their highest level for a decade in England and Wales, rising from 85,803 vehicles in the year to March 2012 to 130,270 in the year to March 2023 — an increase of more than 50%. Part of the reason, say experts, is the rise of keyless entry...

Kia did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Toyota, which owns Lexus, said: 'Toyota and Lexus are continuously working on developing technical solutions to make vehicles more secure. Since introducing enhanced security hardware on the latest versions of a number of models, we have seen a significant drop-off in thefts. For older models we are currently developing solutions.'

Another common attack requires entry to the vehicle first, according to the article, but then uses the vehicle's onboard diagnostic port to program 'a new key linked to the vehicle...'

'Many owners of Ioniq 5s, which sell from around £42,000, now use steering locks to deter thieves.'

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