Jeff Scott works with fleets, vehicle manufacturers, converters and specialist builders who need to understand how a vehicle is attacked and what protection will work in practice. Consultancy can be commissioned on its own, separately from any product purchase.
Why Jeff Scott
Practical background
Jeff Scott has fitted vehicle security since 1997, started Sussex Installations in 2003 and has specialised in van security since 2008. More than 23,000 deadlocks and slamlocks have been fitted by the business.
Real attacks, examined
Jeff investigates damaged vans to understand what an attacker was trying to reach and how the attack developed. Many solutions on this site came from that work.
Design to manufacture
Products are designed, prototyped and made in-house: 3D scanning, CAD design and CAM programming, then CNC laser cutting, press-brake forming, powder coating and gasket manufacture, with installation methods refined on real vehicles.
What you can commission
Fleet operators
- Fleet security reviews: how your vans are being attacked, what is being taken and where the weak points are.
- Analysis of recurring break-ins across vehicles, depots or routes.
- Vehicle-specific recommendations rather than one-size-fits-all lists.
- Trials on a small number of vans before any fleet-wide rollout.
Fleet installation itself is covered on our fleet services page. A recent example is the fitting of 12 fleet service vans at our workshop.
Converters and specialist vehicle builders
- Bespoke protection designed around your vehicle, your conversion and how it is used.
- Fit, finish and installation method considered from the start, so protection can be fitted consistently.
- Prototype components made in-house and refined against your requirements.
Vehicle manufacturers
A modern van is a connected system of mechanical, electrical and software-controlled parts. We can review, test and advise on it as one system rather than component by component.
- Physical security design review: doors, latches, locks, handles, reinforcement structures and panels.
- Wiring and electrical review: wiring routes and access points, sensors, locking circuits and electronic systems.
- Software and control-behaviour review: how body control module logic and programmed responses behave under different inputs, and where legitimate vehicle behaviour could unintentionally reduce security.
- Vulnerability assessment and attack testing: based on how attacks are actually carried out, as internal evaluation.
- Countermeasure development: practical protection that can be made, fitted and maintained.
Our review approach looks at mechanical architecture, electrical architecture, software and control logic, and human factors and misuse, then at installation practicality and real-world attack scenarios, before a security risk assessment and practical recommendations. It is outlined on Jeff's profile.
Scope is physical, wiring and control-behaviour security at vehicle level. It is not a software code audit or a cyber-security certification.
Defence-related vehicle projects
- Physical vehicle security assessment and product development for organisations with relevant requirements.
- Review of electrical systems, wiring and software control logic, including how a vehicle responds to inputs and where its behaviour could reduce security.
- Practical analysis of how a vehicle can be attacked and how protection can be designed around it.
This is an enquiry route for relevant vehicle security work. It does not imply any existing defence contract, supplier approval or security clearance. Scope is physical, wiring and control-behaviour security at vehicle level, not a software code audit or cyber-security certification.
How an engagement works
1. Paid initial assessment
We examine the vehicle or product, the attack evidence and your objectives, and report what we find.
2. Scoped development proposal
If development is appropriate, we agree what will be designed, what will be tested and what the outputs are, before work starts.
3. Prototyping and agreed testing
Prototype parts are made and fitted. Testing is carried out to the plan agreed in the proposal.
4. Manufacture, supply or licensing
Where appropriate, products can be manufactured and supplied by us, developed for the client's own IP, or licensed. The route is agreed per project.
Advice, and when charges apply
No charge for advice with product sales. Fleet operators and body builders can benefit from our expert advice and product recommendations as part of a normal product sale, without a charge for that advice.
Charges for in-depth work. In-depth analysis, investigation, review and development are charged. In some cases the cost can be built into the price of the products you buy from us as your supplier, or refunded when an agreed purchase target is met. We agree which applies with you at the start.
Consultancy can also be commissioned on its own, separately from product purchases. Pricing depends on the vehicle and scope, so please contact us for pricing. Non-disclosure agreements are available where appropriate to the project.
Discuss a confidential security review or development project
Tell us about the vehicle, the problem and what you need to find out. We will explain what an initial assessment would cover and how it would be priced. Contact us for pricing.
Selected case studies
Each case study sets out the problem, Jeff's contribution, how the work was developed and what is documented. Each one also says what type of evidence exists.
How to read the evidence on this page
Design and IP records show that something was designed and when. A registered design protects how a product looks and is shaped. It is not proof that the product performs well.
Field evidence comes from real customer vans and recorded repairs. It is useful, but conditions are not controlled.
Internal evaluation means attack testing carried out by Sussex Installations on its own products and on other companies' products.
Independent testing means testing by a third party. None is claimed on this page. If you need independent or accredited testing, tell us at the start so the scope can reflect it.
Case study 1: New-shape Ford Custom (2023 onwards) side load door
- Problem
- The side load door latch had been the most vulnerable attack point of the previous Ford Custom for four years. The new model had an improved factory shield around the latch, but Jeff's assessment was that it would not be enough to stop the same attack.
- Jeff's contribution
- Early hands-on examination in December 2023: lock positions and operation, factory deadlocking, central-locking software logic, alarm behaviour and sensors, latch mechanisms and wiring routes. His findings were kept confidential at the time so that they did not encourage attacks, and some electronic-locking findings remain undisclosed.
- Development
- A dual-layer wrap-around internal shield was developed into a triple-layer shield (6mm in the most vulnerable places, about 2kg). Registered designs were applied for on 26 April 2024. An external repair shield was designed before the first repair, and an escutcheon repair shield was developed on the day for a customer in August 2024 (registered 20 September 2024).
- Documented outcome
- A July 2024 customer van was repaired the same day, when replacement doors were not available. In a video published in August 2025, thieves attacked a van fitted with a deadlock and the internal shield, making a hole low in the door, and did not get in. A December 2024 video shows thieves getting into a van that had only a deadlock.
- Type of evidence
- Real customer vans, recorded on video, plus design records. This is field evidence, not controlled or independent testing.
- Read more
- Ford Custom 2024 security investigation
Case study 2: Stealth Trap and Stealth Trap Anchor
- Problem
- Thieves cutting around external security shields to reach the door latch.
- Jeff's contribution
- Design of an anti-cut-around device that sits inside the door and is fixed discreetly using the stud and nut fixing points of the external shield. The Anchor version also connects to the internal structure of the door, and the design includes anti-cut wings.
- Development
- Developed and manufactured in-house, patent-pending, and fitted to customer vans alongside internal Stealth shields.
- Documented outcome
- From July 2026 the Stealth Trap was offered free, as a limited-time offer, with selected side load door external shields for 13 listed vehicle ranges. The Anchor is shown in a July 2026 repair video.
- Type of evidence
- Product, design and patent-application records, and customer repair videos. No independent testing is claimed.
- Read more
- The Stealth Trap behind the shield and Layered van security
Case study 3: Rear barn door handle attacks on Vivaro, Trafic and Primastar vans
- Problem
- Thieves ripping the handle from the rear barn door to reach the latch mechanism, on vans made between 2001 and 2014. The same handle design is still used on certain high-roof Renault Trafic and Nissan Primastar vehicles.
- Jeff's contribution
- In 2013 the repair was a replacement SlamHandle plus an enlarged inner shield. When those handles were discontinued, a new external stainless steel shield was designed to bolt over the original handle.
- Development
- The shield covers existing damage and uses 12 x M6 studs, nuts and washers through the handle area, so the fixings help stop the handle being pulled out. It is made in 2mm stainless steel with a gasket and fitting instructions.
- Documented outcome
- Catalogued as a product for the Nissan Primastar (2001 to 2014) and demonstrated in a 2026 video repairing an attacked Vivaro with a replacement handle and the new shield, alongside Jeff's original 2013 footage.
- Type of evidence
- Product record and customer repair video. No independent testing is claimed.
- Read more
- 13 Years Later video page
Case study 4: EASYFIX no-drill external shields
- Problem
- Owners wanted a visible shield, or a repair over break-in damage, without more holes cut into their bodywork.
- Jeff's contribution
- Design of a complete bonding system: a precision-cut stainless shield, an adhesive gasket and a controlled bonding channel.
- Development
- The patent-pending dual-adhesive gasket contains the curable adhesive, helps keep the bond-line thickness consistent and limits visible squeeze-out. Shields are 2mm 316 marine-grade stainless steel, made in Eastbourne. Fitting and curing guidance is supplied with each vehicle-specific product.
- Documented outcome
- The range launched in 2025 under the registered EASYFIX trademark and is vehicle-specific.
- Type of evidence
- Product, trade mark and patent-application records and fitting instructions. No independent testing is claimed.
- Read more
- EASYFIX: van security without the drilling
Intellectual property
The intellectual property register lists 269 catalogue entries covered by UK registered designs, 14 UK registered trade marks and 4 UK patent applications linked to EASYFIX and Stealth technologies. These show design ownership and development history. They do not demonstrate security performance.
Common questions
Can I commission consultancy without buying any products?
Yes. Consultancy and development work can be commissioned on its own, separately from buying products from Sussex Installations. Where you do buy products from us, expert advice and recommendations as part of that sale are not charged for, but in-depth analysis, investigation, review and development are.
Can we work under a non-disclosure agreement?
Yes, where appropriate. The arrangements are agreed to suit the nature and sensitivity of the project, at the start of the conversation.
Do you test products?
We attack-test our own products and other companies' products. This is internal evaluation, not independent certification.
Do you do defence work?
We are open to discussing relevant vehicle security assessment and development, covering physical security, electrical systems and software control logic. This does not imply any existing defence contract, supplier approval or security clearance.
Who owns the resulting designs?
That depends on the project. Options include paid development for a client's own IP, supplying products that we design and manufacture, or licensing, and the route is set out in the proposal.
How much does it cost?
Advice and product recommendations given as part of product sales are not charged for. In-depth analysis, investigation, review and development are charged. In some cases the cost can be built into the price of products bought from us as your supplier, or refunded when an agreed purchase target is met. Contact us for pricing. The cost depends on the vehicle, the scope and the amount of testing.
Further reading
Discuss a confidential security review or development project
Tell us about the vehicle, the problem and what you need to find out. We will explain what an initial assessment would cover and how it would be priced. Contact us for pricing.
