The “challenge” was getting totally out of hand. In the United States, owners of Hyundai vehicles and its subsidiary Kia have been facing an increase in theft in the United States for several months. In question, a bug in the anti-theft software that could be disabled with a simple USB cable.
And when the news hits TikTok, it goes viral, with the help of those who call themselves the “Kia Boyz.” According to The Verge, the recent vehicles of the two brands do not have, unlike the competition, an electronic immobilizer system. By dismantling the location where the key must be inserted to start the vehicle, the thieves only had to use a USB cable instead to start the engine.
France not worried
As a result, in a few months there have been thousands of robberies and, above all, 14 accidents that have caused 8 deaths in the United States. It is the vehicles dated from 2015 to 2019 that are affected by these thefts, which often end in diversions.
The updates won’t completely prevent fraudulent startup, but they will extend the alarm duration from 30 seconds to one minute. The presence of a key in the starter will also be necessary to start the vehicle. Contacted by Tech&Co, Hyundai’s French subsidiary points out that no French vehicles are affected by this update because the anti-theft systems are simply different.
Source: BFM TV
