Chinese electric vehicles that are actively gaining popularity in the United Kingdom are at the epicenter of serious national security fears. It is, in particular, BYD, GWM, OMODA and JAECOO brands, which are equipped with modern cameras, sensors, radars and have a constant internet connection.
The British Ministry of Defense has introduced strict rules for the use of such cars near strategic objects. At the Air Force Air Force in Cambridge, for example, it is forbidden to park electric vehicles with Chinese technologies closer than 3 km from important buildings. And some electric machines are not allowed at all to military landfills, including the Salisburian plain, where the Ukrainian military is trained. Suspicions have a real basis. According to the National China's Law on National Intelligence, Chinese companies are obliged to cooperate with special services, which is concerned about the event. Cybersecurity specialist James Bohr notes that electric vehicles are constantly transmitting data to manufacturers, and therefore can be used as a tool for collecting intelligence information.
Lord Couker, the Minister of Defense from the Labor Party, in response to requests in parliament, confirmed that the government is studying potential threats from any vehicles, not just Chinese, and has already developed internal instructions for drivers and passengers. Similar incidents have already happened. For example, in 2024 it became known that Strava's fitness app unintentionally revealed routes of movement of world leaders, including Joe Baiden, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, which actually opened access to confidential information.
This new round of technological espionage sets into question not only privacy, but also the safety of the digital environment in which we all want it or not - we become participants.
