The British military has banned EVs with ‘Chinese parts’ from a secretive site in Cambridge, amid long-standing surveillance concerns. This affects not only Chinese-manufactured BEVs, but those featuring components manufactured in China.
According to The i Paper, Ministry of Defence (MoD) staff working at the RAF Wyton military base in Cambridgeshire have been told to park their EVs a minimum of two miles away from key buildings. Certain BEVs have also been banned from the UK’s military training ground on Salisbury Plain in Somerset.
James Bore, a cybersecurity expert, told The i Paper that EVs have the potential for ‘misuse’ by adversaries. He said: “By their nature electric vehicles tend to be more modern. They have more technology and intelligence in them and almost all of them will report back to the company that runs them and give efficiency statistics so they can better calculate battery usage.”
He added: “You cannot update a combustion engine midway through driving but you can update the algorithms that govern, charge and discharge a military personnel’s EV battery on the fly. It does mean that you are being reported on. If you’re looking at sensitive sites that is data that could be useful and it could be misused.”
The UK’s Minister of State for the MoD, Lord Coaker, recently told Parliament the new rules are not ‘centrally mandated’. “Our policies and procedures take account of the potential threats from all types of vehicle, not just those manufactured in China, and we have issued appropriate internal direction to all drivers and passengers. There are no centrally mandated policy restrictions on the movement of Chinese manufactured vehicles.”
He added: “We are aware that individual defence organisations may have stricter requirements relating to electric vehicles on some sites, but we do not provide specific details for security reasons.”
The revelation follows a warning from the MoD in February that EVs supplied by China could be ‘listening in on drivers and passengers’. MSN News wrote at the time: “Some believe these vehicles supplied by China might be bugged with secret microphones to listen in on top secret discussions. One source claimed workers will often discuss their work while being driven around.” The MoD responded to the claims by saying: “We have strict security procedures in place to ensure sensitive information is protected.”
msn.com
