THIEVES USES MYSTERY DEVICE TO UNLOCK AND DRIVE AWAY IN CARS WITH EASE

Car thieves are using a small electronic device to unlock car doors and even to start car engines without the car's keys. 

If your vehicle has a start-stop button for the engine ignition, you could be just as vulnerable.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau released a report regarding a mysterious device that car thieves are using to break into locked vehicles easily without any drama.

The device “most likely a Relay Attack Unit”, as investigated and discovered by NICB, comes in two parts. The first, picks up the signal from the key fob, when the driver is locking the car from a distance up to 10 feet, and then transmits it to its second part, the “relay box” that is used to unlock the car and start up the engine.

The unit is meant to assist car makers in testing the network security of their products, but in the wrong hands it becomes a powerful tool for thieves. 

NICB obtained a Relay Attack unit via a third party security expert.

NCIB Spokesman Roger Morris said, the Bureau tested this “mystery device” in association with used-car retailer “CarMax”.

The testing took place over a two week period with 35 cars, of which they were able to open 19 and drive away in 18 and were able to restart 12 of the vehicles using the device again after turning them off.

Sadly, the NICB does not have a solution to prevent this sort of theft.

As for vehicle owners, NICB advises that they should keep valuable items out their vehicles, keep their key fobs on them at all times and should park in secure or crowded areas whenever possible. 

Police and vehicle owners should also keep an eye out for any suspicious activity 

     

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