We’ve all seen advertisements for The Club, a metal rod that attaches to the steering wheel of a car to prevent theft. Unfortunately it doesn’t actually work, and makes the care easier to steel. Bruce Schneier’s blog once again brings the fact security snake oil just doesn’t work. See the club is easy to remove and works as a tool to assist in the actual theft:
At some point, the Club was mentioned. The professional thieves laughed and exchanged knowing glances. What we knew was that the Club is a hardened steel device that attaches to the steering wheel and the brake pedal to prevent steering and/or braking. What we found out was that a pro thief would carry a short piece of a hacksaw blade to cut through the plastic steering wheel in a couple seconds. They were then able to release The Club and use it to apply a huge amount of torque to the steering wheel and break the lock on the steering column (which most cars were already equipped with). The pro thieves actually sought out cars with The Club on them because they didn’t want to carry a long pry bar that was too hard to conceal.
Yup the one thing about people, we’re an ingenuous bunch. Since we’re talking security against car theft I’ll explain what I do. I have insurance against theft, if my car is stolen and can’t be recovered my insurance company pays me money. It works pretty well as I really have no sentimental attachment to my vehicle.