Company Hyundai agreed to pay about $200 million to 9 million Hyundai and Kia owners whose cars were stolen after the TikTok viral challenge who revealed vulnerability safety in some Hyundai and Kia vehicles.

The challenge began after the profile “Kia Boys” posted a video in TikTok, showing how to start cars without anti-theft immobilizers using a USB cable. By data Engadget, the challenge has resulted in at least 14 accidents and 8 deaths.

To steal it is enough to connect USB cable with ignition lock

Hyundai will pay affected customers up to $6,125 for stolen vehicles and up to $3,375 to cover the cost of damage caused by the hijackers. For affected vehicles Hyundai also released update preventing theft in this way.

We previously reported that in the US a new type of car theft during which criminals use NOKIA 3310 phones to interact with the vehicle control system.

A new hijacking method allows a thief, even without technical experience, to steal cars without a key in 10-15 seconds. Thanks to devices that can be bought online for several thousand dollars, the barrier of entry to stealing even expensive luxury cars is drastically reduced.