£9.99 KiaSafe Case Can Make The Difference Between A Kia And A Stolen Kia

As cars get increasingly sophisticated so do the anti-theft measures automakers are offering -and the latest crop are very good indeed.

However, that does not mean professional car thieves are that easily thwarted; quite the contrary, as technology works both ways, helping them crack the more advanced anti-theft systems available on the market.

Kia is aware of this, as well as the vulnerability of cars equipped with keyless entry systems. Which is why it has started offering a Faraday case for UK customers that buy a new or used Kia model equipped with such a system.

Also read: VW Promotes The Jetta GLI’s Manual Transmission As An Anti-Theft Device

The automaker says the KiaSafe case has been developed to stop thieves using relay attack devices to obtain the frequency from the car key and gain access to the vehicle. The case acts in a similar way to a Faraday cage, as it features a layer of metal within that blocks any signals from the device used by thieves from accessing the key.

While Kia stresses that this type of attack is not a global one, the company’s Research and Development engineers are “working to ensure that future keyless entry systems are rendered as close to impervious to attack as possible.”

The KiaSafe case is available in select UK dealers during the new car handover process and can also be purchased by existing owners for just £9.99 ($12.5).

“The security of our customers’ vehicles comes second only to safety and we are as concerned about the hacking of keyless entry systems as customers, the police and the insurance industry,” said David Hart, Customer Experience Manager at Kia Motors UK.

“Whilst our current keyless entry systems do not have UWB or “sleep” buttons, our engineers are developing additional levels of protection for future vehicles and these will be applied as soon as is feasible given production schedules and new model introductions,” the representative added.

The automaker advises owners to adopt protection behaviors such as not leaving keyless entry fobs in the front door lock of their home or close to windows and to use the KiaSafe to ensure their key fobs are rendered safe from hacking.