cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/33584974
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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You could just require them to use a power only usb cord…
Or a USB data blocker (an adapter with only the power cables connected). But I guess the concern is that people will want to connect their phone to their car’s entertainment and navigation system.
Maybe the best solution would be “don’t use work phones for personal stuff or personal phones for work.” And if it’s a personal vehicle, only connect your personal phone.
true, i imagine IT security actually reaches quite deeply into your personal life depending on the sensitivity of your role in a company/government
And how do you make sure all your staff does so?
Provide and Superglue it in?
Pretty sure they’re not talking about cars that are provided to the employees but about cars the employees own.
it is possible but:
“I am yet to see any evidence that there is malicious software being spread by Chinese cars.
“There are theoretical attacks which allow your phone or your devices to be compromised through plugging them into a charger, but these have been shown under lab conditions, and I have seen no evidence that it has ever actually happened in the wild.
These cars get updates, just because it’s not happening now doesn’t mean it can’t happen at all in the future and because it can happen in the future they’re better safe than sorry.
“The only government that’s allowed to spy on you is us.”
Love, Your Government
What do you mean? I have nothing to fear if I have nothing to hide!
