With the advancements in computation and technology, keyless entry and ignition are standard features in most cars. Most cars nowadays use radio frequencies to communicate back and forth with the car and remote control just like any other device. Depending on the car brand, there are slight deviations in the frequencies, but the thieves can easily intersect and replicate these frequencies with a wireless transmitter and receiver.

So how will we protect our valuable vehicles from thieves?

The solution is simple, GPS Trackers.

Even if your car is parked safely in the driveway, it doesn’t take that big of an effort for an experienced thief to break in and escape with your car. However, if you have already installed a GPS tracker, that’s an assurance that you can find your car wherever it is, there are several features that GPS trackers come with which can help you ensure the safety and protection of your car. We will go over each of those, one by one.

GEO fencing

As the name suggests, geofencing is like defining a virtual territory around any specific area. It’s an invisible area that you designate as safe terrain for your car. It can be your neighbourhood, your office parking lot, or someplace else. Once the area is marked, you will get instant alerts or notifications as soon as your car enters or leaves that area. It’s a fool proof way to ensure that your car never leaves your vicinity without your prior knowledge.

Motion alert

This is also a highly recommended feature for GPS trackers. This feature ensures that you will receive notifications as soon as your car starts to move. Advanced GPS trackers like that of PAJ’s will also let you know of vibrations and motions of the tracker so you will know if the intruders try to damage the car or use brute force to break in. The major advantage of this feature is you get to know about the situation early and can respond quickly.

Signal strength

Another crucial way GPS trackers can protect your car is by having an excellent signal strength, thereby giving you accurate location data even if your car is in a remote location. Many uses Apple’s Air Tag or Bluetooth finders, but they don’t work as well if the car is taken away from you to a remote location. However, a GPS tracker is built to transmit location data even in difficult terrains. So having a dedicated tracker in your car pays off.

Alerts and trip history

GPS trackers are particularly effective against thefts because of their advanced features. Most GPS trackers come with several kinds of notifications and alerts. For instance, some have an ignition alarm that notifies you as soon as your vehicle starts. Then there is also the feature to let you know if the power to the GPS tracker is cut off. This allows you to know if the thief tried to tamper with the car.

There are also options to view the trip history for a certain period. This not only allows you to track the vehicle, but also see where it has been, and how it got there. Alerts and features like these are particularly helpful if you are requesting the help of law enforcement as they can collect valuable data about the behaviour of the thieves and plan the best strategy to recover your valuable car unharmed.

GPS trackers are very easy to buy and install these days. So, it’s barely a fuss for you but as you now know, comes with huge advantages when it comes to the safety and security of your cars. We hope to have helped you choose which GPS tracker to go for while considering options with these features. Please consider leaving your feedback or queries if you have any in the comments.

Fourteen major car brands have been told they aren’t doing enough to stop keyless car theft. A German study showed that more than 200 new cars could be broken into by what is called a relay attack. This is when thieves trick a car into thinking the key is nearby.

33 car brands were asked what they had done to address this security issue. Disappointingly, only two brands have fixed this across their entire range. 12 had started taking steps on selected models, upgrading systems as they went. But astoundingly, 14 brands had done absolutely nothing.

How does car keyless entry work?

The key has a transmitter and a controller chip in it. A good controller chip uses a hopping/ rolling code which is about 40 bits long. This has the ability to have about 1 trillion different possible codes. This chip holds your special 40 bit code. When you push the button on the remote or are in proximity, that code is sent to the car from the transmitter using RFID radio waves, along with the function you want to do—open the doors, or the boot, etc.

If the car receiver gets the wrong code, it does nothing.

Both the receiver unit and the transmitter use the same random number generator. Once the transmitter has sent a 40 bit code, it chooses a new code, which is stores for next time. This happens at both ends, so the car’s unlock system is synchronised.

So how does a relay attack circumvent this?

A relay attack on car remotes uses radio amplifying equipment to increase the signal to the fob. So your key could be inside, hanging on the hook by the kitchen, the thief boosts the signal, the car thinks the key is close, and the car opens. And then they do the same thing again to start the engine.

There are few statistics available for this type of theft, but it seems to be increasing. A UK vehicle tracking company said that 80% of all the cars stolen in 2017 were taken without using the actual key.

Major security flaw that manufacturers are ignoring

Some car brands are implementing changes. The fixes they are introducing include:

• Motion sensitive fobs. If not moved in a certain time frame, the fobs deactivate.
• Fobs which can be turned off by the owner
• Using ultra-wide-band signals which aren’t tricked by relay equipment.

Tesla and Mercedes-Benz have pushed their security changes throughout all their keyless models. This is a mix of a fix being applied to newer models or disabling the feature on older model cars.

The fourteen brands who have not implemented resolutions include:

• Citroen
• DS
• Honda
• Kia
• Hyundai
• Mazda
• Lexus
• Mitsubishi
• Opel/ Vauxhall
• Nissan
• Peugeot
• SsangYong
• Renault
• Suzuki

While these brands all say they take security seriously, how can they when this is a known way to break into cars and they are doing very little about it?

There are five brands that did not respond to the questions at all, including Alfa Romeo, Chevrolet and Jeep, Fiat and Infiniti.

What’s next for the car industry?

More car brands need to take responsibility, not only for re-designing keyless entry in their new model cars, but also offering the ability to retrofit or change the system on older model cars.

The motion sensor fob is a good short-term fix, but it does not solve the vulnerability altogether. It will still allow thieves to steal in a parking lot after you’ve parked and moved away, or in the 20 minutes after you’ve parked the car in the driveway.

More changes are needed to keep the industry, and keyless systems, safe.

What can you do?

If you have a keyless unlocking system for your car (or even your home), there are no guarantees that your car is safe. Having great car insurance and storing your car in a locked garage helps, but that’s not an option available for everyone. If you are looking to renew your insurance have a look at State NZ. They have a number of different policies and you can get an online quote.

A simple, quick, and cheap fix is to buy a Faraday pouch. These are available online, and they are a small pouch that blocks radio transmissions. While it seems counter-intuitive to have to put your keyless entry key into a pouch which requires you to remove it every time you want to drive your car, it may be the only way to keep your car safe from relay attacks.

It’s also worth making sure that your car insurance is up to date. If it needs renewing have a look at State.