Car thieves can steal 230 keyless vehicles with a relay attack, warns consumer group Which
Four of the UK’s five most popular cars can be stolen by thieves due to a flaw in keyless unlocking systems, it is claimed.
Hundreds of keyless car models are susceptible to a so-called relay attack, which allows car thieves to mimic the passive keyless entry systems to gain access to vehicles, according to consumer group Which.
Famous car models like four of the top five best-selling vehicles in the UK – the Ford Fiesta, the Ford Focus,the Volkswagen Golf and the Nissan Qashqai – are all able to be stolen this way, Which warned.
The only top five car that wasn’t at risk of such attacks was the Vauxhall Corsa, which does not offer keyless entry.
Analysing data gathered by the General German Automobile Club (Adac), Which found that of 237 cars included in the research, just three were not susceptible to thefts of this nature.
Those cars were Jaguar Land Rover models – the latest Discovery and Range Rover and the 2018 Jaguar i-Pace.
“With more than one car being stolen every seven minutes, it’s important that people can feel confident in the security of their vehicle,” Which magazine editor Harry Rose said.
“The fact that so many cars on the road are susceptible to keyless theft simply isn’t good enough. We want manufacturers to up their game when it comes to making their vehicles safe from theft.”
Relay attacks work by manipulating the technology that allows drivers to enter their cars without using a key.
Normally a car senses a driver is nearby by receiving a signal from a fob, unlocking for the driver. A second signal then allows the driver to start the engine without removing their fob from their pocket.
But by searching for the fob signal through the walls of a house porch, car thieves can relay it to another device held up beside the car, tricking the system into thinking the key is within unlocking range before starting its engine on the second signal.
Ford, Peugeot and Vauxhall maker PSA Group, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, Volvo and Volkswagen all told Which they are constantly looking for ways to improve car security.
“We are aware of this type of attack and are fully committed and constantly working to protect our customers to tackle the ever changing security requirements,” Nissan said in a statement.
Ford also advised customers to keep their key fob in a metal case to block the signal. Both BMW and Mercedes have now added motion sensors to their fobs that mean the keys won’t emit a signal when they are not moving.
Some Mercedes, Mazda and Peugeot drivers can ask for their keyless fobs to be turned off.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said: “Industry takes vehicle crime extremely seriously and any claims otherwise are categorically untrue.
“New cars are more secure than ever, and the latest technology has helped bring down theft dramatically with, on average, less than 0.3 per cent of the cars on our roads stolen. Criminals will always look for new ways to steal cars; it’s an ongoing battle and why manufacturers continue to invest billions in ever more sophisticated security features – ahead of any regulation.
“However, technology can only do so much and we continue to call for action to stop the open sale of equipment with no legal purpose that helps criminals steal cars.”
You can find the full list of affected vehicles here.