Norwegian military vehicles recorded security codes and personnel

Norwegian military Chinese electric vehicles security breach data privacy intelligence gathering

During the Hovedstad military exercise in September, Norwegian soldiers discovered that Chinese-made rental electric vehicles were recording sensitive information. The footage, found while personnel were reviewing onboard computer menus, included images of military personnel, their movement routes, and the security codes and key cards used to access military gates.

At least two of the vehicles were identified as Deepal brand, which is owned by the Chinese conglomerate Changan. The cars were provided by First Rent A Car Norway, a company whose ownership chain leads to the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group via Volvo Cars.

Despite the discovery, the military continued to use the vehicles for the remainder of the exercise due to a shortage of alternative transport. While soldiers managed to delete the recordings from the vehicles' internal systems, it remains unclear if the data was transmitted to external servers. The Norwegian military has acknowledged the security risks but stated it is not currently implementing a blanket ban on vehicles from specific countries.

Entities

Changan · Changan Automobile · Deepal · Fredrik Blanck · Hertz Norge · Norway · Norwegian Armed Forces · Zhejiang Geely Holding Group

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

[● 3 SOURCES] Soldiers deleted the footage from the vehicles after the exercise, but it is unclear if the data was transmitted elsewhere. ruse.news · novini247.com · fakti.bg
[● 3 SOURCES] At least two of the vehicles involved were Deepal brand cars, owned by the Chinese company Changan. ruse.news · novini247.com · fakti.bg
[● 4 SOURCES] Due to a vehicle shortage, the military continued using the cars until the end of the exercise despite the discovery. ruse.news · novini247.com · actualidad-rt.com · fakti.bg
[● 5 SOURCES] The recordings captured security codes and key cards used to enter military gates. ruse.news · novini247.com · www.sofx.com · actualidad-rt.com · fakti.bg
[○ 1 SOURCE] The Norwegian military acknowledged the security risks but has not implemented a blanket ban on vehicles from specific countries. www.sofx.com
[● 6 SOURCES] The security breach occurred during the Hovedstad military exercise in September. ruse.news · novini247.com · www.sofx.com · actualidad-rt.com · fakti.bg · +1 more
[● 8 SOURCES] Chinese-made rental cars used during a Norwegian military exercise recorded personnel, movements, and security codes. ruse.news · www.expresdiario.com.ar · deultimominuto.com · novini247.com · www.sofx.com · +3 more
[● 3 SOURCES] The vehicles were provided by First Rent A Car Norway, which is part of the Volvo Cars group. ruse.news · www.sofx.com · actualidad-rt.com