Electric cars: high -tech transport or Trojan horse for espionage?
Have electric vehicles (EV) have been defended as the future of sustainable transport, but under the brilliant marketing is an increasing concern: do these vehicles open the door to cyber-espionage?
The last alarm was retained in the United Kingdom, where defense entrepreneurs would have warned employees not to twin their phones with electric manufacturing vehicles. According to I Journal, fear is that sensitive data can be silently siphoneed by foreign actors, especially those linked to the Chinese state.
Data Gold Mines on Wheels
“Modern vehicles that have live updates – crawl with computers, various radios, LIDAR sensors and external cameras – may well be reused as a surveillance platform,” said Rafe Pilling, director of threat intelligence at Cybersecurity Firm SecureWorks.
He is not alone in his concerns. With integrated microphones, cameras, bluetooth and Wi -Fi, today’s electric cars are essentially computers on wheels – and this makes them vulnerable.
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“A mobile phone connected to the car, whether via a charging cable or Bluetooth, is another data source,” added Pilling.
These data – contact lists and location history for the use of applications and messages – could be of immense interest in hostile states, especially if the driver works in government or defense. And with many electric vehicles manufactured in China, the operating potential under the 2017 Beijing National Intelligence Act, which requires cooperation with Chinese state security, is difficult to ignore.
As Professor Alan Woodward said of the University of Surrey: “If a car is able to spy on you, it can be used badly.”
Not just paranoia for paranoid
“Engineers working on sixth generation hunting planes should think twice before connecting work phones to personal vehicles,” said Joseph Jarnecki, a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute. “You could allow data access to your mobile.”
Even daily users are not immune. Most people casually synchronize their phones for music or navigation – ignoring that they can leave sensitive traces in the car infotainment system, especially when using rental vehicles. “It’s a bad idea,” warns Pilling, stressing that few drivers cannot wipe the system afterwards.
Why simply target Chinese electric vehicles?
While Byd, Xpeng and other Chinese brands are faced with the most severe interview due to their links with the Chinese state, experts warn that the problem is not limited to any nation.
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The British Defense Ministry insists that there is no national ban on Chinese electric vehicles in sensitive places, but the Minister of Defense, Lord Coaker, confirmed that the government actively evaluates “any potential threat to national vehicle security”. This includes those made outside China, although it is revealing where the biggest concerns are.
Hydrogen: a safer and more intelligent alternative?
This growing anxiety in the face of cybersecurity EV projects a shadow on their supposed green references. Although electric vehicles can reduce exhaust pipe emissions, they bring with them complex software systems, hidden risks and foreign outbuildings.
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There is a strong case to do for hydrogen as the best solution. Not only can hydrogen fuel reduce emissions without revising the entire fleet of the vehicle, but it is not based on annoying embedded systems or a constant internet connection to the function. Existing combustion engine vehicles can even be adapted to operate on hydrogen, avoiding the obsolescence of the mass that EV adoption can cause.
Conclusion – Time for hydrogen
The high -tech electricity attraction quickly fades under the weight of safety fears, software failures and mounting infrastructure costs. Hydrogen, with its promise of clean fuel and less technological compromise, deserves much more attention than it receives.
As Rafe Pilling noted, electric cars could be “reused as a surveillance platform”. This risk alone should give governments – and consumers – a serious break. It may be time to rethink the blind thrust to electric vehicles and give hydrogen the support it needs to supply a cleaner and safer future.