A recent incident involving a British naval drone transmitting data to China has amplified concerns among U.S. policymakers about the national security risks associated with Chinese technology, particularly within the automotive sector.
According to Chad Wolf, former acting Secretary of Homeland Security, China employs a strategy of intellectual property theft, cyber espionage, and industrial policy to integrate its technology into Western supply chains. This integration, he argues, creates vulnerabilities that Beijing can exploit against adversaries. The current approach of restricting Chinese technology only after risks become apparent and costly to rectify is insufficient, Wolf stated.
China has become the world's largest vehicle exporter, and its companies are significant players in electric vehicles, batteries, software, sensors, and connected technologies. As modern vehicles become increasingly reliant on these components, they transform into sophisticated computers on wheels, collecting vast amounts of data about drivers and their surroundings. This data, coupled with software control over critical functions like steering and braking, poses a severe national security risk if accessed by an adversary.
The threat is not limited to Chinese-made vehicles sold directly in the U.S. Chinese companies' components, including batteries and software, integrated into vehicles manufactured by American, European, Japanese, or South Korean companies could also embed vulnerabilities. Such widespread integration could provide Beijing with an extensive intelligence picture, detailing Americans' travel patterns and access to sensitive locations like military bases and power plants.
In a crisis, these vulnerabilities could potentially be exploited for large-scale disruption of transportation networks, according to Wolf.
To counter this threat, Congress has an opportunity to pass the bipartisan Connected Vehicle Security Act, sponsored by Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) and Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.). This legislation aims to codify and expand upon a Commerce Department rule that restricts vehicles, software, and connectivity hardware linked to adversarial nations. The rule, based on the Commerce Department's conclusion that foreign adversary access could enable sensitive data collection and remote manipulation, was an important initial step, but Wolf contends that congressional action is needed to make these protections permanent.
The Connected Vehicle Security Act would extend protections beyond finished vehicles to the connected technologies embedded within them, including software, communications equipment, and battery-integrated electronics. The Senate Commerce Committee unanimously advanced the bill in July, and its passage would prevent the U.S. from becoming entrenched in another dependency on Chinese technology, as has occurred in other sectors.