- WIADOMOŚCI
Chinese cars were recording soldiers' conversations and codes to military base gates
The Norwegian Armed Forces, using cars rented from a company with capital links to the Chinese conglomerate Geely, stated that during military exercises, the vehicles recorded soldier activity, travel routes, and even access codes to protected facilities. The case has raised questions about data security and the rules for using civilian technologies in the military. The Norwegian news service Nettavisen reports on the matter.
The Norwegian Armed Forces, which rented cars from Hertz Norge for various tasks, found that during September exercises, devices installed in the vehicles automatically recorded soldier activity. The recordings included information on personnel movement and codes entered at military gates.
The cars were used for daily transport tasks and various operational activities. As reported by the Norwegian service Nettavisen, the vehicles were rented under a multi-year contract worth 350 million Norwegian kroner (approx. €30.2 million / $32.8 million).
Multi-million contract with a company linked to China
As Norwegian media point out, the local military logistics organisation entered into a nationwide framework agreement for car rentals from June 2024 to May 2028. Journalists established that the main provider – First Rent A Car Norway, the operator of Hertz Norge – is linked through ownership to the Chinese group Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, known for owning Volvo Cars, among others.
The founder and chairman of Geely, Li Shufu, is also a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, an advisory body functioning within the political system of the PRC.
The issue had sparked discussion earlier, but it has now returned due to new information. It was revealed that during exercises involving the Norwegian Home Guard (Heimevernet), soldiers discovered that the rented vehicles were automatically saving video footage. At least two of the cars were Chinese Deepal brand vehicles, owned by the Changan conglomerate.
It is unknown what happened to the data
The recordings contained information about people entering and exiting the cars, travel routes, parking locations, as well as codes entered when opening gates to military facilities. The vehicles’ systems recorded information that could be significant for the operational security of the Norwegian Armed Forces.
After detecting the problem, soldiers deleted the saved material from the cars. However, it was not disclosed whether the data was stored exclusively locally or if it could have been transmitted to external systems. Despite this – as reported by Norwegian media – the vehicles continued to be used during the exercises.
According to media reports, the reason was the limited availability of other cars. The matter triggered a reaction from politicians, who addressed a series of questions to the Norwegian Minister of Defence regarding the risk analyses conducted before renting Chinese-made cars. So far, they have received no answers.
