19 Sep 2025
A Park Street woman whose partner’s Kia was stolen from their driveway despite added security measures has warned other owners to be vigilant.
Donna Myerthall woke up on a Sunday morning to realise the two-year-old EV6 was missing from their home in Tippendell Lane, and subsequent investigations revealed the tracker had been disabled.
She said: “We have two car keys and each one is kept in its own Faraday pouch so this theft was not carried out by the relay method where the thieves use a gadget to connect to the car keys in the house. That was not possible.
“It appears from internet research that it is a known situation that these cars are frequently targeted using a ‘game boy attack’ where a device is used to apparently exploit the vehicles handshake protocol with the key fob. We found examples of this theft happening as long ago as October 2024.
“Since then our car has been in to the Kia dealer twice for updates and service and at no point were we advised of this security weakness.
“There is no way that the manufacturer is unaware of this problem but as far as we know there has been no communication or any fix introduced. How can Kia still be selling cars for anything over £50K knowing that they are vulnerable to theft unless you use a steering wheel lock as a deterrent? It’s a complete joke!
“Needless to say we won’t be getting another model like this whenever this whole sorry situation is sorted out.”
A spokesperson for Kia said: “Car thefts using digital technologies have recently become the target of organised criminal groups throughout Europe.
“Cars manufactured since February 2024 have received the necessary hard- and software combination to significantly reduce the risk of being stolen using ‘keyless’ methodologies.
“Kia takes this industry-wide issue very seriously, and is working closely with law enforcement in each country to support.
“While monitoring the situation closely, Kia stands by its customers and continues to investigate security features to help mitigate risks.”
Herts police’s crime prevention officer said he is aware that it appears that certain models have security vulnerabilities that allow thieves to bypass keyless entry and other systems.
“Apparently, Kia has implemented software and hardware updates for models manufactured from 2024 to reduce the risk.
“Thieves use handheld hacking devices sometimes disguised as game controllers to exploit the vulnerabilities of the cars security system. This is known as ‘Game Boy theft’, and I suggest owners contact Kia to ensure their vehicle has the latest security updates.”
Other theft prevention methods include:
* Activating ‘Valet mode’ using the infotainment system, allows you to enable a PIN-protected valet mode every time you park. This keeps the Kia connect tracker active and makes it difficult for thieves to disable.
* Purchase and fit a “sold Secure” or “Secured by Design” steering wheel lock. In addition consider fitting a vehicle alarm system.
* Consider hiding an Apple Air Tag so that the vehicle can be traced if stolen.
