Executive View: The Chinese Trojan Horse

AM's regular columnist Professor Jim Saker, emeritus professor at Loughborough University's business school and president of the Institute of the Motor Industry, expands on his recent warnings about the UK readily opening its arms to China's vast manufacturing and technological expertise when its regime is potentially unstable in the long term. 

On July 12 I was asked to speak to an audience of cyber security professionals who were looking at the underpinning threat across the whole transportation system in the UK.

Their basic theme was ‘Security by Design’ arguing that it was better to embed security within products as opposed to protecting them from outside threats. The presenters focussed on how much money and effort the motor industry OEMs were spending on securing the technology around connected vehicles.

The problem is that this does not present a realistic scenario as it assumes that all manufacturers from all countries are working to the same security-based agenda.

The day after I spoke, the UK the Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee said that China had penetrated ‘every sector’ of the UK economy.

In previous articles in AM, I have highlighted the competitive threat that China places in the UK electric vehicle market and that this had been accentuated due to the Government’s ICE ban in 2030.

The threat of connected electric vehicles flooding the country could be the most effective Trojan Horse that the Chinese establishment has to potentially paralyse or hold the UK to ransom over issues such as Taiwan. Yet the whole issue is being ignored in the debate over 2030.

The Institute of the Motor Industry has for a number of years identified the security risks of connected automotive technology; unauthorised individuals could influence the running of a vehicle remotely with the potential for criminal activity, terrorism or exerting political influence.

For example, connected vehicles can be stopped remotely. If the automatic braking system was applied to vehicles travelling on a motorway at 70mph, the traffic would simply pile into the back.

If this occurred at strategic points it could gridlock cities.

Even with regulation and strict homologation there is no way of stopping a car manufacturer having control of the vehicle and its data if the technology is already designed to allow it.

The dystopian scenario is that come 2030 up to 300,000 Chinese vehicles could be in Europe, with the largest percentage being in the UK.

The situation in Ukraine has illustrated how Governments can weaponise products such as gas and grain supplies. With connected cars the threat is very much closer to home.

The IMI believes proactive measures, industry collaboration, and ongoing awareness are required to ensure the safety, privacy, and integrity of connected vehicles and the broader network.

The IMI is also working with the National Protective Security Authority to contribute to discussions regarding the improvement of both cyber and physical security in the industry particularly where it relates to vehicles being imported in volume from other nation states.

Author: Professor Jim Saker