With car theft rising in Canada, what technologies are criminals using?

With car theft accelerating in Canada, the federal government and law enforcement officials say more needs to be done to restrict the different technologies being used by criminals to steal vehicles.

The country’s auto theft problem was front and centre in the capital, Ottawa, Thursday with cabinet ministers meeting law enforcement agencies, border officials and other industry stakeholders at a national summit to combat increasing vehicle thefts.

Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said the government will be taking steps to ban the importation, sale and use of consumer hacking devices that criminals use to commit vehicle theft.

“On prevention, criminals are using tools like uncertified and, let me quote, immobilizer reprogrammers and GPS jammers to steal cars,” he said during a press conference in Ottawa Thursday.

He said the government has already taken action to remove more than 300 uncertified and illegal products offering and listing from the Canadian distribution chain.

“But we need and we are going to be doing more,” Champagne said.

Speaking at Thursday’s summit, Terri O’Brien, president and CEO of Équité Association, said ever since the innovations in keyless and remote start technologies were introduced in vehicles, criminals have been taking advantage of “outdated standards” dating back to 2007.

“They’re able to quickly and easily exploit these vulnerabilities, gaining access to a locked vehicle in under 60 seconds,” she said.

A lack of information sharing, loopholes in the shipping declaration systems and outdated anti-theft safety standards have paved the way for growing criminal networks and crime rings that are expanding their operations across Canada, O’Brien added.

While the