Azernews.Az

By Alimat Aliyeva

Companies within the UK military-industrial complex are imposing new restrictions on employees over fears of becoming targets of industrial espionage, Azernews reports.

According to reports, some safety protocols now prohibit employees from connecting smartphones to USB ports in Chinese-made vehicles. The concern is that malware could potentially be installed on devices via hidden software in automotive systems.

British defense manufacturers are increasingly wary of Chinese technology, especially as demand for low-cost Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) continues to rise. These vehicles often include complex digital systems that could be exploited for surveillance or data extraction.

“Security measures have been significantly tightened. There is no doubt that Chinese intelligence activity is high,” a source within the UK defense industry told the publication. “To my knowledge, certain assessments have even been conducted at the Ministry of Defence level, due to concerns about Chinese vehicles and the large number of advanced technologies embedded in them. Many companies are now treating this as a real threat, and security departments are monitoring it closely.”

The article notes that some companies now prohibit employees from parking Chinese-made cars in corporate lots, discussing work-related matters while inside these vehicles, or connecting phones to them via USB or Bluetooth. These rules, in some cases, have been quietly in place for several years and were not necessarily introduced in direct response to any specific action by Chinese authorities or law enforcement.

Beyond British firms, U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin and French aerospace and defense company Thales have also implemented tighter security measures at their UK facilities.

Some cybersecurity experts compare the rise of digital features in modern vehicles to the early days of smartphones — packed with sensors, microphones, GPS, and internet connectivity — making them potential tools for surveillance. In this context, cars are increasingly seen not just as transportation, but as mobile data hubs that could be exploited by hostile actors.