2025-08-26
6 分钟The Economist.
Imagine meeting a seasoned British car thief in 2013.
They would probably have cut a sorry figure.
Every year of their career, the grind had got harder.
The tools of their trade, such as a coat hanger or slim jim, a flat metal strip for bypassing locks,
and strippers for manipulating ignition wires, had, slowly but surely, been rendered obsolete.
Thanks to improved security technology, business had dried up.
Not anymore.
The recent boom in car theft offers a window into an ever-shifting battleground.
On one side are manufacturers who make and sell products.
On the other are thieves who try to nick them.
As the technology for providing security and defeating it has become better and cheaper,
the battle has speeded up.
Modern cars are sometimes called computers on wheels.
That brought benefits but also vulnerabilities that carmakers were slow to grasp.
The first was relay attacks,
which became popular in Britain in 2016 after manufacturers introduced keyless ignition.
A thief stands on a street and uses a device to bounce the electronic signal.
from a house to the car.
Manufacturers have designed that out in newer models.