EVs could be hijacked by hostile states like China to spy on UK, minister warns
HOSTILE states could make electric cars intelligence gatherers to monitor Brits, Ministers have warned.
The motors could be hijacked by countries such as China to keep tabs on the public as pressure grows to reduce their influence.
Tom Tugendhat, Home Office Minister, insists that more work is needed to strip technology made by the Communist state in the police and security services.
The Security Minister doubled down to say “digital asbestos” could be found across Whitehall and institutions.
His intervention came as he was probed in the Commons over the Communist state who provide CCTV equipment, body cameras and drones here.
Speaking to MPs, he warned of “the potential that some electric vehicles could be easily turned into mobile intelligence gathering platforms by hostile states”.
He was probed by his Labour counterpart Dan Jarvis who raised that our police and security services were “technologically vulnerable” following comments by the Biometrics and Surveillance commissioner.
Replying to the question, Tugendhat said: “This is something that’s ongoing, so it’s got out of the most secure sites already.
“But there are other areas where there is work to do because of course, there were an awful lot of sites, I’m afraid, which bought technology which will now be problematic. Of course, it’s not just static sites.
“There is of course, the potential that some electric vehicles could be easily turned into mobile intelligence gathering platforms by hostile states and so it’s not simply about looking at the past but also the future.”
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It comes after Ministers moved to ban Huawei technology from all 5G public networks by the end of 2027.
Britain decided to ban Chinese firm Huawei and other high security risk companies from its 5G network after pressure from the United States.
Huawei dismissed concerns from Washington DC and key allies over its operations with the firm saying it was “politically motivated and not based on a fair evaluation of the risks”.