Luxury Paperweight: Porsche’s Satellite-Controlled Anti-Theft System ‘Bricks’ Cars in Russia

“Hundreds” of prestige Porsche sports cars and SUVs have been disabled by their onboard satellite-linked anti-theft immobiliser system across Russia, leading to claims it may be an act of deliberate sabotage.

Newer Porsche cars including the Cayenne, Panamera, and Macan models have suddenly stopped working in Russia, leaving users saying they had been “bricked”, reports TVP World. “Hundreds” of the vehicles, fitted with Porsche’s proprietary Vehicle Tracking System, a satellite-controlled security device intended to track and disable the luxury cars if targeted by thieves are understood to have been affected.

The German car maker no longer sells to Russia, having ended exports with the onset of the Ukraine war. But nevertheless, many of the well-appointed cars remain in Russia.

TVP states Russia’s largest Porsche dealership has suggested “it’s possible this was done deliberately” and the issue may be tied to the “blocking of the standard satellite alarm system”.

As things stand, it is not clear whether the luxury cars suddenly ceased to function within Russian territory. Russian language reports have questioned whether it is a simple mistake, a cunning act of sabotage, or a side-effect of Russia’s defence against Ukrainian air strikes. Because Ukrainian drones uses the GPS Global Navigation Satellite System to find their way to their targets, Russia has been engaging in a massive programme of satellite jamming so powerful that large swathes of eastern and northern Europe are impacted.

If Porsche cars are unable to get data from their security satellite, their onboard systems could believe an attempt to steal the vehicle is underway.

The mass bricking of Russian Porsches is not the first time concern about the security implications of networked smart vehicles has been aired. In the United Kingdom, the Ministry of Defence has been attempting to honour green targets by buying battery electric vehicles, which given their dominance of certain segments of the market has meant large numbers of Chinese EVs being brought into the military fleet.

Given most modern cars are rigged with microphones, cameras, and data connections, the security implications of this data being processed on Chinese servers has led the British Ministry of Defence into the bizarre situation of having to place physical notices inside its own cars telling officers being driven that their conversations should not contain any secrets.