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Yes, it is technically possible to unlock an electric vehicle or issue a remote-start command through a connected service when an account, application programming interface (API), cloud backend, wireless module, or vehicle component has a security weakness. That does not mean every EV is exposed, that an arbitrary stranger can start any car, or that a remote command automatically lets a thief drive away. The documented cases are model-, service-, and vulnerability-specific.
Modern EVs are connected computers on wheels. Their cloud services can manage remote locking and unlocking, diagnostics, location features, charging, and over-the-air updates. Each function adds an authentication, authorization, software, and communications path that must be secured.
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What the documented evidence shows
In remarks at a 2026 Auto-ISAC summit, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said researchers had found exploits that enabled remote vehicle unlocking and engine starting through connected-service APIs. The same remarks described tailored API requests that could unlock doors, sound the horn, start the vehicle, and track its location.
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That is evidence that a vulnerable connected service can accept commands an attacker should not be allowed to send. It is not evidence that every EV can be started over the internet, that criminals have a universal method, or that one proof of concept applies to all manufacturers and models.
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For an EV, “start” may mean remotely waking the vehicle, enabling climate control, or authorizing the drivetrain rather than starting an internal-combustion engine. Whether the car can then be shifted into gear depends on its immobilizer logic, key or phone presence requirements, software configuration, and the particular vulnerability.
NHTSA Administrator Dr. Steven Cliff summarized the broader issue in 2022: “As vehicle technology and connectivity develop, cybersecurity needs to be a top priority for every automaker, developer, and operator.”
How a remote unlock or start attack can work
An attacker does not need to break every layer of an EV. The practical goal is to find one trusted path that accepts an unauthorized instruction. Different paths require different access, affect different functions, and are controlled by different organizations.
Cloud services and mobile APIs
The official mobile application normally sends a request to a manufacturer’s cloud service, which authenticates the account, checks whether that account is associated with the vehicle, and forwards an approved command. A flaw in any of those checks can turn a legitimate feature into an unauthorized control channel.
Possible failures include stolen or reused account credentials, an API that fails to verify vehicle ownership, a session that remains valid after a user signs out, predictable identifiers, or a backend that trusts a command without checking the caller’s permissions. NHTSA’s cited examples included requests for unlocking, horn control, engine start, and location tracking.
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These attacks can be performed remotely when the vulnerable service is reachable over the internet. The attacker may need an account, a recovered session token, knowledge of a vehicle identifier, or another service-specific condition. The required access is therefore not the same for every vehicle.
Wireless interfaces and aftermarket modules
Wireless accessories can create a different risk from a cloud account. NHTSA described an aftermarket anti-theft-module failure in which every device shared one hardcoded cryptographic key. Anyone who obtained that key and came within Bluetooth range could unlock doors, silence alarms, or disable ignition.
A hardcoded key shared across a product line is especially serious because compromising one unit can expose many others. Bluetooth proximity also changes the criminal’s requirements: the attacker may need to be near the car, but does not necessarily need the owner’s app password.
Unknown telematics boxes, poorly secured alarm systems, and accessories connected to the vehicle’s wiring or diagnostic port can add similar exposure. An accessory may be physically small yet have authority to issue commands that the owner assumes are protected by the factory system.
In-vehicle networks
Inside a vehicle, infotainment, cellular communications, body controls, charging systems, and safety-critical controllers exchange messages over internal networks. NHTSA’s cybersecurity guidance treats those systems as assets requiring segmentation and layered protection.
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Segmentation is intended to prevent a compromise in a lower-trust component, such as an entertainment or communications unit, from directly reaching steering, braking, propulsion, or other safety-critical functions. A vulnerability that permits an unlock command is not automatically a vulnerability that permits control of those systems.
The severity of an in-vehicle flaw depends on where the vulnerable component sits, what messages it can send, whether safety controllers authenticate them, and whether the vehicle is moving. Public descriptions of a single exploit rarely establish all of those conditions.
Charging applications and equipment
Charging adds an ecosystem that links a vehicle, a mobile application or charging account, an EV supply device, a site network, and local electrical infrastructure. The charger is a digital and physical bridge to the vehicle’s high-voltage battery-management system.
Research on EV-charging mobile applications found that weak user or vehicle verification and authorization could allow remote hijacking of charging sessions and attacks on connected infrastructure. A charging-session takeover is not the same as unlocking the cabin or starting the drivetrain, but it demonstrates that an attacker may affect the vehicle ecosystem without attacking the vehicle’s door locks directly.
Risk can be distributed among the automaker, charger manufacturer, charging-network operator, property owner, electricity provider, and application developer. Each party controls a different account, update channel, or network boundary.
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Four attack scenarios compared
| Scenario | Access an attacker may need | Commands or effects described | Primary component owner | Is a fix possible? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connected-service API flaw | Internet access plus a service-specific account, token, identifier, or authorization weakness | Unlock, horn, remote start, location requests | Automaker and cloud-service providers | Often requires a backend change, application update, credential reset, or vehicle software patch; the exact remedy is model-specific |
| Aftermarket Bluetooth module with shared key | Bluetooth proximity and the shared cryptographic key | Unlock doors, silence alarms, disable ignition | Aftermarket supplier and installer | May require replacing or reprogramming the module and changing the key; no universal remedy is established |
| In-vehicle network compromise | Access to a connected or physically reachable vehicle component | Potentially messages across network boundaries; the documented material does not establish universal safety-critical control | Automaker, suppliers, and software maintainers | Segmentation, authenticated messaging, software updates, and configuration changes may reduce exposure |
| Charging-app or charger weakness | Charging-account access, application/API weakness, or access to connected charging equipment | Hijack a charging session or affect connected charging infrastructure | Automaker, charger maker, network operator, and site owner | Application, backend, charger-firmware, and account-control changes may be available |
The table distinguishes documented attack surfaces; it does not imply that one attacker can combine them into a complete theft sequence.
Can a hacker steal an EV through the app?
An app compromise can be enough to unlock a vehicle, start a remote function, expose location data, or manipulate charging. Whether it permits theft depends on the vehicle’s additional controls. Some cars require a recognized key, phone, or other authorization before they can be shifted into drive. Others may have different remote-start and immobilizer rules.
Consequently, “the app was hacked” and “the vehicle was driven away” are separate claims. A documented unlock exploit establishes unauthorized door access. A documented remote-start exploit establishes that a start-related command was accepted. Neither fact alone proves that every immobilizer can be defeated or that the attacker can operate the car while it is moving.
NHTSA’s guidance calls for risk assessment, network segmentation, protection of safety-critical systems, secure updates, and incident response precisely because command scope matters. Security teams must determine not only whether a message can reach the vehicle, but also what the receiving system will permit it to do.
How likely is this to happen?
There is no defensible published incident-rate statistic in the cited material showing how often criminals remotely unlock or start EVs. The available evidence consists of research exploits, disclosed weaknesses, and government guidance. The existence of a proof of concept should not be converted into a claim about crime frequency.
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Exposure varies with the model, connected-service design, account security, software version, aftermarket equipment, local charging setup, and whether a vulnerability is known and patched. A vehicle with remote features is not automatically insecure, and a vehicle without a mobile app can still have wireless, diagnostic, charging, or physical attack surfaces.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What EV owners should do now
- Install updates promptly. Keep the vehicle’s operating software, telematics firmware, and official mobile applications current. Updates may correct authentication, authorization, communications, or component vulnerabilities.
- Secure the connected account. Use a long, unique password for the manufacturer’s account and enable multifactor authentication when offered. Do not reuse that password on email, charging, or other services. Review logged-in devices and revoke sessions you do not recognize when the service provides that control.
- Limit account sharing. Remove former drivers, temporary users, and old phones from the vehicle account. A person who still has an authorized session may be able to issue legitimate commands even after physical access ends.
- Inspect for unfamiliar hardware. Look for unexplained OBD-II adapters, telematics boxes, spliced wiring, or dashboard tampering. Ask a qualified technician to identify anything you did not install. Unknown aftermarket equipment can have privileges that are difficult to see from the vehicle’s normal menus.
- Choose accessories carefully. Avoid untrusted alarm, remote-start, and anti-theft modules. Prefer products with documented credential management, unique keys, supported updates, and a clear process for reporting vulnerabilities.
- Protect keys and phones. Keep key fobs and phones under your control, use device screen locks, and avoid leaving an authenticated phone unattended in the vehicle. A signal-blocking pouch may reduce exposure to some relay attacks involving key-fob radio signals, but it does not protect against a cloud-account or backend compromise.
- Secure charging accounts. Use unique credentials for charging applications, review vehicles and payment methods associated with the account, and install charger or application updates supplied by the operator. Treat a home charger as networked equipment, not merely as an electrical appliance.
- Report suspicious behavior. Contact the automaker or charger operator through its official support or vulnerability-reporting process. Preserve timestamps, application notifications, login alerts, unusual location records, and service messages without attempting to probe the suspected flaw yourself.
Warning signs and an immediate response
Signs that merit investigation
- A door, horn, climate system, or charging session changes without your action.
- An application shows an unfamiliar login, device, vehicle association, or location request.
- The vehicle reports a remote command that you did not send.
- An unknown device, OBD-II adapter, wiring splice, or module appears under the dashboard.
- A key, phone, or charging account stops working after an unexplained account change.
Steps after a suspicious event
- Use the manufacturer’s account controls to sign out unknown sessions, change the password, and enable multifactor authentication.
- Contact the automaker’s security or roadside-support channel and ask whether there is an active incident, recall, service bulletin, or software mitigation for your vehicle identification number.
- If an aftermarket module is present, have a qualified technician disconnect or replace it rather than cutting wiring yourself.
- Secure the physical vehicle and key fobs while the issue is investigated; do not rely only on the app’s lock status.
- For suspected theft, stalking, or unauthorized location tracking, contact local law enforcement and preserve account and vehicle logs.
What manufacturers and service operators must get right
Owners can reduce exposure, but the most important controls are normally outside the driver’s reach. Automakers and suppliers need unique credentials and cryptographic keys, strong account-to-vehicle authorization, rate limiting, secure session handling, authenticated commands, protected diagnostic interfaces, and a tested process for revoking compromised access.
Vehicle architectures should separate infotainment and communications from safety-critical controllers, monitor unusual commands, and fail safely when trust checks fail. Cloud services, mobile apps, chargers, and vehicle firmware all need coordinated vulnerability handling because a weakness in one layer can undermine otherwise strong controls elsewhere.
Secure over-the-air updates are part of the defense, not an optional convenience. An update mechanism must authenticate software, protect the delivery channel, prevent unauthorized rollback where appropriate, and provide a way to respond when a supplier or backend weakness is discovered.
Incident response also matters. Operators should be able to identify affected vehicles, invalidate tokens or keys, notify owners, issue mitigations, and explain what functions were exposed. NHTSA’s guidance treats response planning as part of cybersecurity rather than something to improvise after a theft.
What this means for an EV buyer
Ask how the vehicle’s app authenticates users, whether multifactor authentication is available, how secondary drivers are removed, how long sessions remain valid, and how software updates are delivered. Ask the same questions about a home charger and any dealer- or installer-fitted telematics device.
Do not judge security by the presence or absence of a single feature. A vehicle with no remote-start button can still have a vulnerable charging account or wireless module; a vehicle with extensive app controls can be well protected if authorization, segmentation, updates, and monitoring are implemented correctly.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesThe useful distinction is between capability and exposure. Connected control creates a capability. A vulnerability, stolen credential, shared key, or authorization failure creates exposure. Security work is the set of controls that keeps the capability restricted to the person and circumstances intended.
Quick Recap
Key points to remember
- Remote unlocking and start-related commands are technically possible when a connected service or vehicle component has a vulnerability or authorization failure.
- Cloud APIs, mobile applications, Bluetooth devices, aftermarket modules, in-vehicle networks, and charging systems are separate attack surfaces.
- Charging connects the vehicle and its high-voltage systems to networked infrastructure, creating risks beyond the door locks.
- An exploit in one model or service does not show that every EV is vulnerable or that every attacker can drive a vehicle away.
- Current software, strong unique accounts, careful accessory choices, physical key protection, charging-account hygiene, and prompt reporting reduce exposure.
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