After Denmark and Netherlands; now UK is probing if China can 'shutdown' hundreds of buses on its roads
After Netherlands and Denmark, here's another country that seems to have just realised that its buses can be brought to standstill by China. According to a report by Financial Times, the UK government is investigating whether hundreds of Chinese-made electric buses on British roads could be remotely deactivated. Officials at the Department for Transport (DfT) are working with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to determine whether Yutong, the world’s largest bus manufacturer, has the ability to access the control systems of its vehicles in the UK for software updates and diagnostics.
The probe follows a Norwegian investigation that found Yutong buses could be “stopped or rendered inoperable” by the Zhengzhou-based company. Denmark has also opened its own review in light of the findings. Yutong has supplied roughly 700 electric buses to the UK. The company is also seeking to expand into London’s market with a newly developed double-decker electric model designed to meet Transport for London (TfL) standards.
A DfT spokesperson reportedly said, “We are looking into the case and working closely with the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre to understand the technical basis for the actions taken by the Norwegian and Danish authorities.” Investigation by Denmark authourities found that remote deactivation of buses could be prevented by removing their SIM cards, but they decided against this because it would also disconnect the bus from other systems.
TfL confirmed that none of its operators currently use Yutong buses, nor have any been ordered. “Any buses entering service in London have to meet our robust technical requirements, including rigorous testing,” the agency said.
In a statement to The Sunday Times, Yutong said it “strictly complies with the applicable laws, regulations and industry standards of the locations where its vehicles operate.” The company added that its data collection practices are limited to “vehicle-related maintenance, optimisation and improvement,” and that all data is encrypted and access-controlled. “No one is allowed to access or view this data without customer authorisation,” Yutong said, adding that it complies fully with EU data protection laws.
The probe follows a Norwegian investigation that found Yutong buses could be “stopped or rendered inoperable” by the Zhengzhou-based company. Denmark has also opened its own review in light of the findings. Yutong has supplied roughly 700 electric buses to the UK. The company is also seeking to expand into London’s market with a newly developed double-decker electric model designed to meet Transport for London (TfL) standards.
A DfT spokesperson reportedly said, “We are looking into the case and working closely with the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre to understand the technical basis for the actions taken by the Norwegian and Danish authorities.” Investigation by Denmark authourities found that remote deactivation of buses could be prevented by removing their SIM cards, but they decided against this because it would also disconnect the bus from other systems.
TfL confirmed that none of its operators currently use Yutong buses, nor have any been ordered. “Any buses entering service in London have to meet our robust technical requirements, including rigorous testing,” the agency said.
In a statement to The Sunday Times, Yutong said it “strictly complies with the applicable laws, regulations and industry standards of the locations where its vehicles operate.” The company added that its data collection practices are limited to “vehicle-related maintenance, optimisation and improvement,” and that all data is encrypted and access-controlled. “No one is allowed to access or view this data without customer authorisation,” Yutong said, adding that it complies fully with EU data protection laws.
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