As reported by the specialized publication Militarnyi, special boards integrated into the design of these vehicles react to certain trigger words and activate recording or data transmission to servers located in China. This opens up the possibility of potential eavesdropping on phone conversations, as well as interception of information from nearby computers.
The Israeli army purchased over 600 electric vehicles of Chinese production — MG ZS EV and Chery Tiggo 8 models. These cars were used in administrative premises, in particular near the Ministry of Defense building. The BYD Atto 3 electric vehicles, which were planned to be handed over to high-ranking officers, were never allowed into operation after the inspection. To reduce potential threats, the e-Call function, which provides automatic emergency call, is disabled in these cars.
Cybersecurity experts emphasize that such electric vehicles can be considered as "mobile spy systems" capable of collecting audio recordings, video, geolocation data, and biometric information with subsequent transmission of this data to remote servers.
