Sophisticated tech designed to prevent the stealing of targeted Toyota models has been devised.
Toyota has announced the rollout of several new safety systems to certain older vehicles in lieu of them being targeted by hijackers.
In a statement, the automaker said it has become aware of rising vehicle hijackings after the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions using sophisticated methods despite most of the vehicles in question featuring keyless entry.
“Toyota South Africa Motors’ research and development team acted proactively, forming allies with various parties, including the South African Police Services, in order to gather intelligence about the new methods used by criminals when stealing cars in South Africa,” the statement read.
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“The intelligence gathered revealed that highly sophisticated cyber-attacks are used by thieves to exploit the vehicle’s computer-controlled systems. These attacks include three modes: CAN Attack, fob relaying and a combination of forced entry and key cloning”.
The mentioned forms of gaining entry and ultimately stealing have been identified as the following:
While it didn’t go into detail explaining the measures taken to prevent the mentioned happening, it did confirm that all new Toyota and Lexus vehicles sold from December will have the enhancements as standard, with those earmarked for the targeted older vehicles being available at no cost to the owner.
Vehicle in-line for the upgrades include:
“We, as Toyota, are committed to developing safe and reliable vehicles and we will continue with our research and development to further enhance our vehicle security systems,” Toyota South Africa Motors’ Senior Vice-President of Sales and Marketing, Leon Theron, said.
“I would also like to add that vehicle owners will not negate the warranty on their vehicles should they elect to fit an aftermarket security device provided that these are installed correctly by a reputable fitment centre.”
For more information, visit toyota.co.za.
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