Every Car Has Legally Required Emissions Tech That Makes Them Easier to Steal
Potential controversy alert! Is saving the earth making cars easier to steal? The On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) port is legally required in every modern car. It provides monitoring of emissions control systems, but the OBD port also has safety risks.
Thieves steal cars by hacking the OBD port
Most modern cars all over the world are legally required to have an OBD port. They allow people to plug a computer into their car and monitor its components, including the emissions control systems.
According to GEOTAB, you can view how well your car is working by plugging a scanner into the port to scan for problems.
This provides trouble codes to quickly and accurately diagnose various problems with the engine, battery, transmission, and more.
But the OBD port can also make vehicles easier to steal. Thieves can break a window to plug devices into the OBD port, which is commonly located under the dashboard.
Criminals will hack the port to replicate or program a new key fob in a matter of minutes. Then the car thinks a legitimate key is being used to start the engine.
They can also connect to the engine control unit to disable the factory alarm and bypass the engine immobilizer to take out every defense system.
In some cases, the port is used to track personal data like GPS history. Your smartphone information, and driving habits is also available. This allows criminals to plan their attacks. By programming a key and learning your habits, they can come back later to strike at the perfect time.
How to protect your OBD port
There are plenty of ways to protect your vehicle, though. You can prevent access by placing a physical lock over the OBD port. You can also move it to a spot that’s harder to access. Leave a decoy in the original spot. If it isn’t plugged in, it may cause confusion. Thieves don’t want to waste time.
Advanced anti-theft systems like ghost immobilizers block communication between the ODB port and the ECU until the system is disarmed. Some will even send an alert to your phone.
Plus, buff up your security by using steering wheel locks or tire locks, parking in a well-lit area, locking your car, and parking in range of surveillance camera feeds.
