WTF?! In another cautionary tale about everything becoming unnecessarily tech-filled and connected, hundreds of Porsches across Russia were completely bricked recently due to a mysterous satellite security system malfunction. The exact cause of the problem is still being investigated, and while there is no evidence that it was a deliberate attack, some say it's a possibility.
At the end of November, Porsche owners in cities across Russia found their luxury vehicles wouldn't start or were shutting themselves down soon after ignition.
Russia's largest dealership, Rolf, later confirmed that the problem was due to a loss of satellite connectivity to the Vehicle Tracking System (VTS) onboard module.
Once connection is lost, the vehicle's system believes an attempted theft is taking place and automatically activates security measures such as locking down the engine and cutting fuel delivery.
"Currently, there is no connection for all models and types of internal combustion engines," Rolf's service director Yulia Trushkova told the Russian publication RBC.
The problem affects any Porsche built after 2013 that is factory fitted with the VTS module.
Some owners have been able to restore their cars' functionality by manually disabling or rebooting the VTS system. Others found that disabling the battery for up to 10 hours also worked. Some dealerships have reportedly issued a fix for impacted cars, which involves partially dismantling them to access the alarm units.
Like almost all western companies, Porsche suspended sales in Russia following the country's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, though it does still own three local subsidiaries that it has been unable to sell.
Only Porsches within Russia experienced the malfunction. A Rolf spokesperson said "It's possible this was done deliberately," but did not provide any evidence.
The incident is another reminder of the potential risks that come as carmakers pack their vehicles with more tech. In this case, it was the connected vehicle security system that failed, but we've also seen studies on how modern cars are privacy nightmares.
In 2024, we heard how connected cars with built-in telematics share driver statistics and data with insurers, often without the owners even realizing it.
In a related story, there were reports last month that Europe is investigating whether electric buses made in China and being used on EU roads could be remotely shut down by their manufacturer.