From The Times, May 14:
Embedded Chinese tech ‘could freeze cars and traffic lights’
The former head of MI6 has warned MPs that Chinese-made microchips in UK infrastructure could be exploited to cause blackouts and ‘immobilise London’
China could switch off Britain’s traffic lights and “immobilise London” because its companies control so much crucial technology in the UK, MPs have been warned.
Sir Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6, and Charles Parton, a veteran diplomat, said that Chinese companies dominate the industry of microchips that are embedded in technology — known as “the internet of things” (IoT).
These are devices in objects such as appliances and vehicles that transmit and receive information through computer networks, known as Chinese-made cellular IoT modules (CIMs).
They can be embedded in household items such as fridges, speakers and air fryers or physical infrastructure such as traffic light systems and electric cars in order to connect with other devices through the internet.
At an event in parliament hosted by the Coalition on Secure Technology, Dearlove and Parton warned MPs that these “gateways to computers” are everywhere and potentially can be accessed by their manufacturer at any time.
Given that they are mostly owned by Chinese companies, they have obligations to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), including to play a role in national security.
Both Dearlove and Parton warned that this relationship could be exploited for the use of spying devices or to cause disruption.
Parton, a former diplomat who spent 22 years working in China and is a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute think tank, pointed out that CIMs are in systems including routers and financial terminals. Possible scenarios included causing gridlock by using CIMs to “turn off the traffic light system”, according to a source at the briefing on Monday night....
....MUCH MORE
The Express focused on a related point on May 12:
The horrifying reality of how China could cripple Britain with one simple moveEVs are also the perfect tools for sabotage, surveillance and espionage - as well as targeted assassinations
Beijing could bring chaos to the streets of the UK by simply disabling Chinese electric cars, a security expert has warned. China's share of the UK car market is currently more than 10% and is likely to increase rapidly in the coming years.
With an ever-growing number of drivers choosing to go electric, Chinese EVs are becoming increasingly popular. However, new electric vehicles come with an array of sensors and cameras, as well as being connected to the internet, allowing their manufacturers unprecedented access to and control over their vehicles.
In theory, this would allow a vehicle to be disabled from afar with relative ease.
"China could cripple the traffic in London by cutting the controls of, let’s say, 400 electric cars in one go, so they couldn’t be moved," Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6, warned recently,
He added that there was a strong security case for banning all Chinese-made electric cars....
....MUCH MORE
If interested here's more on Vehicle-to-Vehicle and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure communication:
V2V vs V2I: Vehicular Wireless Communication Tutorial
For more on the various Chinese laws that require citizens and corporations, including foreign corporations operating in China, to cooperate with the state security organs see:
DeepSeek and Chinese Security Laws: There Are No Secrets
This isn't some game of RISK where the board and pieces get boxed up at the end of the night.
Earlier today - "How China’s tech giants wired the Gulf"
