Chinese EV maintains connection to China during Norwegian mine experiment

Researchers conducting the Lion Cage project in Norway have raised cybersecurity concerns regarding Chinese-made electric vehicles. During an experiment, a NIO ES8 electric SUV was driven deep into an underground mine to attempt to isolate its communication systems from external networks.

Despite the lack of cellular signal, the vehicle continuously attempted to connect to servers, the majority of which were located in China. Network traffic analysis revealed that approximately 90% of the vehicle's telemetric data flows were directed toward IP addresses physically located in the People's Republic of China.

While NIO maintains that data for European customers is stored within the European Economic Area, the experiment suggests a discrepancy between official statements and actual network behavior. Security experts noted that because the data is encrypted with keys held by the manufacturer, it is impossible for European authorities to determine if the transmitted information includes sensitive data such as GPS traces, camera footage, or microphone recordings.