An anti-theft system built to protect cars is actually making them easier to steal, UC San Diego researchers found.<\/p>\n
Using just a smartphone, Aaron Schulman, associate professor at the University of California San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, was able to leverage the security system\u2019s Bluetooth connection to unlock the car and immobilize the vehicle from 5 yards away.<\/p>\n
The security system is manufactured by Carlsbad-based KARR, which provides dealer-installed anti-theft and GPS recovery systems for vehicles. Schulman estimates more than 2.2 million cars are equipped with the system.<\/p>\n
Dealers pitch this system as an optional upgrade: Pay for the service and you can unlock your car with your phone and track it if it gets stolen. They are sold for $500 to $1,500 upon purchase of the car.<\/p>\n
Even if one declines the upgrade, the vehicle can still be compromised, as many dealerships integrate the hardware in all of their cars to protect against theft on their own lots, Schulman said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis car theft system was being installed in almost every car in almost every dealership in San Diego,\u201d Schulman said. \u201cMany people don\u2019t know they have it in their cars.\u201d<\/p>\n
Most of the vulnerable vehicles were bought at Honda, Toyota, Mazda, Ford and Jeep dealerships in Southern California from 2017 to now and have a KARR sticker on the driver\u2019s side window.<\/p>\n
Some of San Diego\u2019s largest dealerships \u2014 DCH Honda of Mission Valley, National City Toyota, Hello Mazda of San Diego, Carvana Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of San Diego \u2014 did not respond to requests for comment from the Union-Tribune.<\/p>\n
![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/KARR-sticker-1.jpg\")
This sticker, found on cars sold after 2017 on the driver\u2019s side window, indicates that the vehicle likely has had a vulnerable system installed by a dealer. (David Baillot\/University of California San Diego\/Jacobs School of Engineering)<\/p>\n
On Monday, KARR released a patch for the problem. \u201cWe responded promptly and developed a firmware update to address the issue,\u201d the company said in a statement to the U-T.<\/p>\n
To fix the flaw, KARR owners have to update the device themselves. The company is offering a free firmware patch through its smartphone app: Drivers download the KARR security app, sit in the driver\u2019s seat, turn the key to power the car on, tap through a few prompts on their phone, then turn the key off.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s urgent that everyone manually update them,\u201d Schulman said. The whole process takes about one to two minutes, he said, but every affected car has to be updated manually.<\/p>\n
This vulnerability has existed for almost a decade, Schulman said, recalling when he first saw the Bluetooth signal in 2017.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy students and I were actually looking for credit card scammers in gas pumps in San Diego, and we noticed this other Bluetooth signal that was really prevalent, but we couldn\u2019t figure out what it was,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t until 2024 \u201cthat we started to piece it all together \u2014 that this was actually this car theft system that was being installed in almost every car sold in many dealerships in San Diego,\u201d Schulman said.<\/p>\n
When Schulman first discovered this, he spent many sleepless nights debating whether to tell the world. At that point, he and his students were the only ones who knew how to unlock a car this way.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an extremely unsettling moment when you realize that you, as a researcher, found out how you yourself could be unlocking every single car in San Diego,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Schulman decided to call KARR\u2019s customer service line and tell them a researcher had found a vulnerability they needed to solve. A few days later, KARR\u2019s security team came down to UC San Diego to watch one of Schulman\u2019s students hijack a car using KARR\u2019s technology.<\/p>\n
Schulman and the KARR team spent an hour \u201cwhite-boarding what to do next,\u201d Schulman said. \u201cAnd actually, they implemented everything that we had talked about.\u201d<\/p>\n
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