Although remote reading of keyless keys has gradually become the most common method of vehicle theft in recent years, this does not mean that perpetrators do not resort to proven methods of theft. The team clearly includes the so-called replacement of the control unit, which endangers especially group vehicles.
As mentioned in the previous article, the factory immobilizer data is stored in the engine control unit or in the units of other systems. The method of replacing the control unit consists in exchanging these units for pre-prepared pieces, which the perpetrator will bring to the crime scene. The components brought in are pre-prepared for theft and all are paired with a new, perpetrator’s key. After the replacement of the given components, the car behaves towards the new key as “own” and works fully without the slightest problems. The offender can thus start or unlock the vehicle in a perfectly inconspicuous way.
This method is especially effective for group vehicles sharing components with dozens of other models that are full of junkyards. The perpetrator can thus very easily obtain all the necessary parts of the puzzle and prepare a key to all the doors by conveniently adjusting them in the room of the home. The only obstacle to the perpetrator when the vehicle is unsecured is subsequently only the doors or windows themselves, which can unfortunately be very easily overcome.
How will Pandora help you?
As mentioned above, the only obstacle for the offender with the new control unit is the vehicle’s doors or windows, and this is where the first wave of Pandora protection comes into play. Thanks to a comprehensive system of tilt, vibration or proximity sensors, Pandora can inform the owner in good time about a potential threat and in selected models also warn the perpetrator that this vehicle is not really worth solving. When overcoming locks or windows with brute force, a loud or silent alarm is triggered and the individual functions are blocked. In addition, thanks to the complete independence of Pandora systems, the vehicle is perfectly secured even after the control unit has been replaced. The highest function in the protection chain, which is performed by the control unit, is fully taken over by the Pandora security unit, which prevents the vehicle from being stolen even if a perfectly identical key is used. Without the presence of an authorization tag, any manipulation of the vehicle is considered unauthorized and so it is not possible to steal the vehicle even with the original key. In addition, each Pandora installation is unique to increase security, aided by wireless interlock modules that cannot be traced.
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