British firms working for the UK’s military or intelligence services are advising staff not to connect their mobile phones to Chinese-made electric cars over fears that Beijing could steal sensitive national security data.
Executives at two of the nation’s leading defence giants have told The i Paper that the entire sector is taking a “cautious” and “belt and braces” approach to the possibility of the Chinese state spying on staff via the country’s electric vehicles (EVs).
The security clampdown within the UK’s highly secretive defence sector follows revelations from The i Paper that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has banned cars relying on Chinese technology from sensitive military sites across the country. In some cases, the MoD has asked staff to park their EVs at least two miles from their workplace.
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The latest disclosure of security worries relating to Chinese EVs could also raise concern among some EV buyers, who are increasingly turning to brands like BYD because of their affordability and longer range.
The role of Chinese companies and equipment in critical infrastructure was brought sharply into focus after the government was recently forced to take control of British Steel from its Chinese owner, Jingye Group, to prevent it from closing blast furnaces at the country’s last virgin steelmaking site.
It is understood that the UK’s leading military production groups, including BAE Systems, Rolls Royce, and Raytheon, as well as US defence giant Lockheed Martin and French defence and cyber security firm Thales, are among those firms that have taken precautions against the potential for Chinese EVs to spy on their staff.
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From Western chips, depending on brand. IIRC Xiaomi phones are already banned for government officials and contractors.
But who’s to say they aren’t adding something a little extra to the firmware on those chips
Probably the NSA. They’d get really touchy if the latest batch of iPhones had unauthorized modifications, and definitely are checking.
Are the chips made in China or Taiwan? Taiwan could of course also add extra features, but it is unlikely that they share it with China.
Western chips of any significance are made in Taiwan or even closer to home. The West is actually very particular about this for exactly this reason, and also just to stop China from getting too powerful.