How to protect your car against thieves in South Africa

Car theft is one of the biggest challenges South Africa’s motorists are forced to contend with on a daily basis.

Although hijackings are more common than instances of theft, and despite these being more preventable, car theft still occurs.

According to the latest police statistics, more than 50 carjackings take place across the country every day, and more than half involve some level of violence.

Motorists are therefore encouraged to practice caution and remain vigilant to prevent their cars from being stolen.

To aid motorists and make this practice easier, cybersecurity experts from Gazer Security suggest following a checklist to help assess a car’s vulnerability to theft.

Gazer said its checklist provides a basic audit of the most common security risks in South Africa, and while the checklist offers valuable guidance, it does not guarantee complete protection against theft.

The company urges vehicle owners to consult with cybersecurity specialists and consider implementing integrated cyber-defence systems for comprehensive security.

Its experts emphasised that effective vehicle security focuses on preventing theft rather than trying to recover a vehicle through post-theft tracking.

As such, car owners are urged to proactively consult with dealership managers about comprehensive security options designed to make theft virtually impossible.

Preventing car theft

Gazer explained that motorists who rely solely on their standard factory key to lock and unlock their car may be vulnerable to signal interception or relay attacks.

Car thieves can intercept and extend the signal from the key fob, allowing them to unlock doors and start the engine even when the key is far from the vehicle.

Modern keyless entry systems may leave cars susceptible to attacks, so Gazer suggests installing a cyber-defence system that includes secure tags for owner authorisation, as these cannot be intercepted or relayed.

Dealerships also tend to focus primarily on standard factory alarms, overlooking real-world threats such as relay attacks, code grabbers, and other sophisticated theft methods.

Gazer explains that the common belief that ‘installing third-party security systems voids the warranty’ is a myth, and a car’s warranty remains intact when installation is performed by authorised centres.

Vehicles that do not make use of keyless entry are still at risk without secondary verification methods, such as PIN entry or an authorisation tag.

Without these, a thief will encounter no additional barriers should they obtain the car’s key or execute a relay attack.

Experts suggest installing a comprehensive cyber-defence system with two-factor authentication combined with a secure wireless identification tag.

Should a car’s bonnet rely on a standard interior release lever, this may be a critical vulnerability, allowing a thief easy access to the engine bay from where they can disable security systems.

This can be done by disconnecting the battery, damaging the siren, or replacing the factory Engine Control Unit (ECU), allowing them to bypass nearly all electronic safeguards and start the vehicle.

Gazer suggests installing an additional locking module to prevent unauthorised access to the battery, ECU, and other electric components.

While factory sirens draw attention to a potential theft, they are a passive defence mechanism that passersby tend to ignore.

Installing a cyber-defence suite with a GSM module that maintains a constant connection to a secure server will trigger an alert with any unauthorised activity and send a push notification to your phone.

Gazer noted that if thieves attempt to use a signal jammer, the server detects the communication loss and instantly triggers an offline alarm.

The security company said that these measures may not guarantee that your car won’t get stolen, but it makes it much more difficult for thieves to target and get away with it.