GM Faces Another Lawsuit Over 'Hackable' Vehicles
In recent years, automakers have been the target of mounting legal scrutiny over product defects that pose safety or security risks. Hyundai and Kia faced nationwide backlash and lawsuits after design flaws made their cars exceptionally easy to steal.
Now, General Motors is facing similar heat. A newly filed class action lawsuit claims GM knowingly sold vehicles with easily hackable keyless entry systems – technology that allegedly allows criminals to steal cars in under 30 seconds using cheap signal-cloning devices.
Filed in the Eastern District of Texas, the case centers around popular Chevrolet, GMC, and Cadillac models produced from 2010 to the present, accusing GM of ignoring known vulnerabilities in its key fob and ignition systems.
A 'Hackable' Keyless Entry System
According to the lawsuit, the core issue lies in how GM's keyless entry system works. It transmits a low-frequency signal between the vehicle and the key fob. Criminals can intercept this signal using a cloning device – typically no larger than a smartphone – and replay it to the car. Once cloned, the signal allows the thief to unlock and start the vehicle without setting off the alarm.
The affected vehicles are GM's full-size SUVs and trucks, including the Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban, and Silverado; GMC Sierra, Yukon, and Yukon XL; and Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV. These models, the suit alleges, also have onboard diagnostic (OBDII) ports that are vulnerable to hacking. With inexpensive gear, thieves can reprogram new key fobs in minutes and drive away undetected.
The plaintiff in this latest case, Jeremy Burkett, claims his 2016 GMC Sierra was stolen directly from his driveway in 2022 without any signs of forced entry. After replacing it with a newer 2023 model featuring the same keyless system, he says he now lives in constant fear of another theft.
Not the First Time GM Has Been Sued Over Key Fob Tech
This isn't GM's first brush with lawsuits over its allegedly flawed keyless entry technology. In 2023, the automaker faced another proposed class action involving the 2010–2023 Chevy Camaro. That complaint mirrored the current case, alleging that Camaro key fobs were also susceptible to radio signal interception and cloning.
The previous lawsuit reported a spike in Camaro thefts tied to cloned key fobs. Despite these public alerts and increasing thefts, the suit alleged GM failed to take corrective action, issue a recall, or inform customers of the risk.
Other automakers like Jaguar-Land Rover have begun implementing ultra-wideband protection to defend against these types of 'relay thefts,' yet the lawsuits argue GM continues to do nothing. While there are ways to protect cars from these thefts, both class actions accuse the company of deceptive and fraudulent practices for selling vehicles with known security flaws.
About the Author
Jacob Oliva View Profile
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
12 minutes ago
- Reuters
China's rebound has a distinct cool factor: Taosha Wang
HONG KONG, July 28 (Reuters) - The first seven months of 2025 have delivered a whirlwind of news on Chinese technology and business, oscillating between anxiety and euphoria, but what has cut through the noise has been the emergence of a "cool factor". In January, TikTok suspended its U.S. services for one day, when the outgoing administration shut down the app due to its ties to China, before the decision was swiftly reversed by the incoming Trump administration. Days later, Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek shocked the world with its cost-effective, high-performance R-1 reasoning model, triggering an intense debate about who will lead the 'AI race'. And then in early May, U.S.-China tensions reached unprecedented heights, as tariffs jumped above 100%, effectively halting bilateral trade, before de-escalation. By summer, however, China was once again exporting critical rare earth to the U.S. and Nvidia had re-started the sales of its AI chips to China, suggesting a burgeoning trade detente between the world's two largest economies. Amid this volatility, China's capital markets have responded favorably. The MSCI China Index has surged around 25% year-to-date through July 25, outpacing the MSCI All-Country World index's 12% gain and the S&P 500 index's 9% rise. Notably, this strong performance has been driven not just by typical business-cycle fluctuations, but also an appeal rooted in innovation, collaboration and youth culture, suggesting China's next growth cycle could look very different from those in the past. China's evolution from low-cost imitator to global innovator is epitomized by its electric vehicle dominance. Chinese EV leader BYD, which began as a battery maker and currently has a market cap of $150 billion, was once dismissed by Elon Musk for its unattractive products and weak technology. However, a decade of development, supported by state-backed infrastructure including China's 10-million-strong charging network, has propelled BYD past Musk's Tesla in global sales. In 2024, one of every five EVs sold globally was from BYD, whose market share is now double that of Tesla's. Moreover, BYD's vehicles, like many other Chinese EVs, now boast the type of sleek designs and novel amenities associated with its U.S. rival. Beyond product innovations, some Chinese companies are also experimenting with new business models and sales strategies. For example, livestream social shopping, which was pioneered by Alibaba, has been adopted by Amazon, Instagram, YouTube and even Walmart (in collaboration with TikTok) in the U.S. to target Gen-Z and millennial shoppers. New players like Chinese toymaker Pop Mart are also experimenting with fresh business models. Its designer toys are sold in mystery boxes, where sealed packages conceal randomized plush "Labubu" figures, which adorn the luxury handbags of many influencers. This strategy seeks to tap into the thrill of uncertainty, creating viral demand beyond the Chinese domestic market. And this appears to be working. Pop Mart's sales from outside mainland China contributed to nearly 40% of its total revenue in 2024, and its profit in the first half of 2025 is expected to soar by at least 350% year-over-year. Historically, tensions surrounding intellectual property have dogged China's global trade relationships. Today, however, its embrace of open-source collaboration appears to signal a profound shift. China is now the fastest-growing and second-largest contributor of open-source code on GitHub, the world's leading platform for software collaboration. Moreover, Chinese tech giants like Huawei and Tencent rank among the top corporate sponsors of Apache and Linux foundations, major nonprofit organizations that shape foundational technologies like artificial intelligence and cloud computing. DeepSeek's R-1 model exemplifies this strategy. Released under the permissive MIT license, it grants large-scale commercial reuse rights (unlike Google's Apache 2.0 or Meta's Llama licenses) and has fueled countless derivative models globally. Such openness has the potential to build developer loyalty, influence AI standards, and circumvent geopolitical friction. This shift has been underpinned by a focus on developing scientific prowess. In 2024, China led the world in high-quality research publications, according to Nature, holding the top spot for the second consecutive year. Its advantage in publications extends even to semiconductor design and fabrication, a field where U.S. technological superiority is often assumed, with Chinese scholars authoring over half of the most-cited papers in this field in 2024. However, the outlook for the country's businesses is not all rosy. Industrial profits are still shrinking, falling 1.1% year-to-date, despite various government stimulus measures, including a recently expanded consumer subsidy scheme and a central bank-backed initiative for state-owned enterprises to buy unsold homes. And price wars in sectors such as EVs and food delivery have gotten so brutal that the authorities have stepped in to mediate 'irrational' competition. Another structural issue is the country's stubbornly high youth unemployment rate (16-24-year olds excluding students), which remained at 14.5% - well above the 5% rate for the labor force as a whole. If China's future growth is to be driven more by a 'cool' factor, then the career prospects of its youth need to be strong enough to support their distinct consumption preferences as well as their entrepreneurial endeavors. Regardless of these challenges, innovation and open collaboration still have the potential to reshape China's global identity. Importantly, economic growth driven by these factors may be more evenly distributed and idiosyncratic, and therefore less cyclical, compared to China's old economic engines of real estate, infrastructure and production capacity investments. No longer just the world's factory, China is becoming a source of culturally resonant innovation. And as America's track record over the past decades suggests, no one should underestimate the value of cool. (The views expressed here are those of Taosha Wang, a portfolio manager and creator of the 'Thematically Thinking' newsletter at Fidelity International). Enjoying this column? Check out Reuters Open Interest (ROI),, opens new tab your essential new source for global financial commentary. ROI delivers thought-provoking, data-driven analysis of everything from swap rates to soybeans. Markets are moving faster than ever. ROI,, opens new tab can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn,, opens new tab and X., opens new tab
The Independent
41 minutes ago
- The Independent
US and China to talk in Stockholm on trade with eye on Trump-Xi summit later this year
When top U.S. and Chinese officials meet in Stockholm, they are almost certain to agree to at least leaving tariffs at the current levels while working toward a meeting between their presidents later this year for a more lasting trade deal between the world's two largest economies, analysts say. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng are set to hold talks for the third time this year — this round in the Swedish capital, nearly four months after President Donald Trump upset global trade with his sweeping tariff proposal, including an import tax that shot up to 145% on Chinese goods. 'We have the confines of a deal with China,' Trump said Friday before leaving for Scotland. Bessent told MSNBC on Wednesday that the two countries after talks in Geneva and London have reached a 'status quo,' with the U.S. taxing imported goods from China at 30% and China responding with a 10% tariff, on top of tariffs prior to the start of Trump's second term. 'Now we can move on to discussing other matters in terms of bringing the economic relationship into balance,' Bessent said. He was referring to the U.S. running a $295.5 billion trade deficit last year. The U.S. seeks an agreement that would enable it to export more to China and shift the Chinese economy more toward domestic consumer spending. The Chinese embassy in Washington said Beijing hopes 'there will be more consensus and cooperation and less misperception' coming out of the talks. With an eye on a possible leaders' summit, Stockholm could provide some answers as to the timeline and viability of that particular goal ahead of a possible meeting between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. 'The meeting will be important in starting to set the stage for a fall meeting between Trump and Xi,' said Wendy Cutler, a former U.S. trade negotiator and now vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute. 'Beijing will likely insist on detailed preparations before they agree to a leaders' meeting.' In Stockholm, the two sides are likely to focus on commercial announcements to be made at a leaders' summit as well as agreements to address 'major irritants,' such as China's industrial overcapacity and its lack of control over chemicals used to make fentanyl, also to be announced when Xi and Trump should meet, Cutler said. Sean Stein, president of the U.S.-China Business Council, said Stockholm could be the first real opportunity for the two governments to address structural reform issues including market access in China for U.S. companies. What businesses will be seeking coming out of Stockholm would largely be 'the atmosphere' — how the two sides characterize the discussions. They will also look for clues about a possible leaders' summit because any real deal will hinge on the two presidents meeting each other, he said. Fentanyl-related tariffs are likely a focus for China In Stockholm, Beijing will likely demand the removal of the 20% fentanyl-related tariff that Trump imposed earlier this year, said Sun Yun, director of the China program at the Washington-based Stimson Center. This round of the U.S.-China trade dispute began with fentanyl, when Trump in February imposed a 10% tariff on Chinese goods, citing that China failed to curb the outflow of the chemicals used to make the drug. The following month, Trump added another 10% tax for the same reason. Beijing retaliated with extra duties on some U.S. goods, including coal, liquefied natural gas, and farm products such as beef, chicken, pork and soy. In Geneva, both sides climbed down from three-digit tariffs rolled out following Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs in April, but the U.S. kept the 20% 'fentanyl' tariffs, in addition to the 10% baseline rate — to which China responded by keeping the same 10% rate on U.S. products. These across-the-board duties were unchanged when the two sides met in London a month later to negotiate over non-tariff measures such as export controls on critical products. The Chinese government has long protested that American politicians blame China for the fentanyl crisis in the U.S. but argued the root problem lies with the U.S. itself. Washington says Beijing is not doing enough to regulate precursor chemicals that flow out of China into the hands of drug dealers. In July, China placed two fentanyl ingredients under enhanced control, a move seen as in response to U.S. pressure and signaling goodwill. Gabriel Wildau, managing director at the consultancy Teneo, said he doesn't expect any tariff to go away in Stockholm but that tariff relief could be part of a final trade deal. 'It's possible that Trump would cancel the 20% tariff that he has explicitly linked with fentanyl, but I would expect the final tariff level on China to be at least as high as the 15-20% rate contained in the recent deals with Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam,' Wildau said. US wants China to dump less, buy less oil from Russia and Iran China's industrial overcapacity is as much a headache for the United States as it is for the European Union. Even Beijing has acknowledged the problem but suggested it might be difficult to address. America's trade imbalance with China has decreased from a peak of $418 billion in 2018, according to the Census Bureau. But China has found new markets for its goods and as the world's dominant manufacturer ran a global trade surplus approaching $1 trillion last year — somewhat larger than the size of the U.S. overall trade deficit in 2024. And China's emergence as a manufacturer of electric vehicles and other emerging technologies has suddenly made it more of a financial and geopolitical threat for those same industries based in the U.S., Europe, Japan and South Korea. 'Some enterprises, especially manufacturing enterprises, feel more deeply that China's manufacturing capabilities are too strong, and Chinese people are too hardworking. Factories run 24 hours a day,' Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Thursday when hosting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Beijing. 'Some people think this will cause some new problems in the balance of supply and demand in world production.' 'We see this problem too,' Li said. Bessent also said the Stockholm talks could address Chinese purchases of Russian and Iranian oil. However, Wildau of Teneo said China could demand some U.S. security concessions in exchange, such as a reduced U.S. military presence in East Asia and scaled-back diplomatic support for Taiwan and the Philippines. This would likely face political pushback in Washington. The Stockholm talks will be 'geared towards building a trade agreement based around Chinese purchase commitments and pledges of investment in the U.S. in exchange for partial relief from U.S. tariffs and export controls,' Wildau said. He doubts there will be a grand deal. Instead, he predicts 'a more limited agreement based around fentanyl.' 'That,' he said, 'is probably the preferred outcome for China hawks in the Trump administration, who worry that an overeager Trump might offer too much to Xi.' ___
Daily Mail
42 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Moment hero Marine subdues knifeman after 11 shoppers stabbed in 'terror' rampage at Walmart
A heroic shopper stepped in to save the lives of terrified locals at a Walmart after a deranged knifeman stabbed 11 people in a 'terror' rampage. The man, identified as ex-Marine Derrick Perry, pulled out a concealed firearm and held knifeman Bradford James Gille at gunpoint until officers arrived at the scene. The 42-year-old Gille had already stabbed 11 people inside the Michigan Walmart and is facing charges of terrorism and assault with intent to murder, according to Grand Traverse County Prosecutor Noelle Moeggenberg. But bystanders credited Perry for potentially saving the lives of many more shoppers. His intervention stopped Gille in his tracks and gave frightened onlookers a chance to flee. It is understood he had a permit to carry a concealed weapon. 'This is what the Second Amendment is all about,' one supporter said, praising Perry for his heroic actions. 'You are a true hero and this town is blessed for people like you,' another wrote. Perry's daughter described her father's instinct to help as a 'proud daughter moment', while his daughter-in-law added that he is a 'true hero.' 'So proud of him for protecting so many,' she added. Others are calling for him to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Video circulating on social media showed the terrifying moment Gille confronted the knife-wielding madman in the parking lot of the Walmart. Perry, along with several other men, cornered Gille in the car park and forced him to drop his weapon. The suspect looked stunned as the tables quickly turned on him. Another man was armed with a shopping cart as he helped to corner Gille. In the chaos, one of the brave men lost his shoes as he shouted: 'Throw the knife away! Throw it away! Another shouted: 'Get on the ground!' 'Drop the knife! Drop it!' another bellowed. Gille backed away slowly until one of the men tackled and subdued him. Police later said he kept repeating: 'I don't care. I don't care.' Moeggenberg, the county prosecutor, told reporters that the terrorism charge will be brought due to the fact that investigators believe Gille intended to 'affect the entire community, to put fear in the entire community, and to change how maybe we operate on a daily basis.' The horrific attack unfolded at the Walmart in Traverse City on Saturday afternoon. Gille allegedly entered the store during a calm shopping afternoon and randomly stabbed the victims with a folding pocket knife, authorities say. Moeggenberg called the attack 'a very random act of violence.' Gille, who police said is a Michigan resident, remains in custody at the Grand Traverse County Jail and is expected to be arraigned Monday or Tuesday. Sheriff Mike Shea praised the quick response from law enforcement officers who arrived within three minutes after receiving the call about the stabbing but also a group of bystanders who intervened and detained Gille in the parking lot. Calls began coming in to authorities at 4:43pm on Saturday and a sheriff's deputy arrived at 4:46pm. 'I cannot commend everyone that was involved enough. When you stop and look from the time of call to the time of actual custody, the individual was detained within one minute,' Shea said at Sunday's press conference. 'That is remarkable. When you look at it in that mitigated Lord knows how many additional victims.' Shea said the 11 victims were both men and women and they ranged in age from 21 to 84. One victim was a Walmart employee. Munson Medical Center Chief Medical Officer Dr. Tom Schermerhorn said at a press conference Sunday that one patient was treated and released; two were in serious condition; and the rest are in fair condition. Walmart said in a statement Saturday that it would continue to work closely with law enforcement in the investigation. On Sunday, a spokesman said he didn't have any details about the store reopening and had no updates beyond the statement released late Saturday. 'Violence like this is unacceptable. Our thoughts are with those who were injured and we're thankful for the swift action of first responders,' the statement read. FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said in a social media post that bureau officials were responding to 'provide any necessary support'. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said: 'Our thoughts are with the victims and the community reeling from this brutal act of violence.' Traverse City is a popular vacation spot on the coast of Lake Michigan. It is known for its cherry festival, wineries and lighthouses and is about 25 miles east of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
