Viral “Kia Challenge” videos posted on TikTok and YouTube have led to an increase in car thefts. The fact is that the training videos tell you how to steal a car using only a USB cable to charge your smartphone.
Such videos show that car thieves are targeting Kia and Hyundai cars. However, they do not need keys or key rings. Attackers remove the cover under the steering wheel and use a USB cable to start car engines. Some videos show thieves driving around in stolen cars, crashing or abandoning them.
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the trend appears to have started, Hyundai and Kia theft accounts for 66% of all car thefts. The theft rate has increased by 2500% compared to last year. Police in other parts of the US are also “observing an unusual trend” in social media-related car thefts.
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Kia vehicles from 2011 to 2021 and Hyundai from 2015 to 2021 were targeted by the Kia Challenge due to a “vulnerability” that allows their engines to be started with a USB cable after the steering column has been hacked. Newer 2022 models no longer suffer from this vulnerability. Unfortunately, car thieves are not limited to car theft. Often they cause accidents with stolen cars or behave unsafely on the road. This results in suspects and bystanders being repeatedly seriously injured or killed as a result of accidents.
However, Kia and Hyundai said they are aware of the theft and that all of their vehicles “meet or exceed” Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
Source: insider
