More than two million cars can have a safety breach that can be an entry door to attacks – which, at the limit, can make the car a zombie, out of control of the driver.
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27/07/2026
by
News to Minutes
Nthe digital age, not even cars are safe from attacks using computer tools. And may exist millions of cars with a security breach which can facilitate attacks based on Bluetooth.
It is the conclusion of a study of University of California San Diego. Several dealers have installed a device controlled by a mobile app – to an anti-theft measure.
In all, there are 2.2 million cars purchased from dealers in Southern California in the last nine years – these dealers of Ford, Honda, Jeep, Mazda and Toyota brands. But cars may even have been exported outside the United States of America and there is a public access database with information about all vehicles that have the security system concerned.
With the connection of a mobile application via Bluetooth, you can access a distance of 4.6 meters to the ignition (stop the car from turning on), lock and unlock the doors, control the horn and even the headlights. As all KARR-SWDS devices have the same safety key, if it is violated, all cars that have them become vulnerable.
Changing the security key and turning off Bluetooth does not solve the gap. While opting not to keep the signature, the device is still there and active. And with this degree of possibility, robbing a car can be as easy as turning on a device via Bluetooth and unlocking the doors.
The affected vehicles may have the KARR-SWDS tag in the driver window while the device concerned is installed under the instrument panel and is difficult to remove. “It is necessary to open the instrument panel and cut and reconnect the wires that are deeply connected with the computers and the car ignition system,” explained by a co-author of the study, Yibo Wei.
Meanwhile, the company that manufactures the devices has already launched an update to correct the safety gap last week – on July 20. However, it is necessary to download an application and Professor Aaron Schulman of the University of California San Diego warns that many owners may not even be aware of the vulnerability of the car.