Dutch Intelligence Warns That Modern Cars’ Smart Features Pose Espionage Risk to Drivers

A Formal Warning From The Hague

The Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) issued a formal public warning on Wednesday, alerting drivers across Europe that the digital systems embedded in modern vehicles — including microphones, cameras, GPS trackers and telematics modules — can be exploited by hostile state actors to conduct surveillance on occupants and their surroundings. The agency called explicitly for “awareness of espionage risks around modern vehicles,” citing the capacity for remote activation of in-car audio and visual systems.

The AIVD did not name a specific country. The timing, however, is not incidental. It arrives against a backdrop of sharply rising Chinese car imports into the United Kingdom and a broader pattern of Western intelligence agencies raising the alarm over Beijing’s access to data collected by Chinese-manufactured technology.

What the Vehicles Can Do — And Who Can Access It

Modern cars are no longer merely mechanical systems. They are data-collection platforms connected to the internet, capable of recording conversations, tracking precise location, and interfacing with paired personal devices. The AIVD’s translated document described this dual reality plainly: practical benefits on one hand, and on the other, systems that “collect a great deal of data about occupants, the vehicle itself, and about objects and people in the vicinity.”

The agency stated it is “technically possible to activate” microphones and cameras remotely in certain vehicles, enabling malicious actors to eavesdrop on conversations and record activity both inside and around the car. Connectivity pathways — Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and even charging ports — were identified as vectors through which data could be extracted from paired smartphones and other devices. GPS navigation systems and charging stations were also flagged as potential instruments of data exfiltration.

The AIVD’s operational guidance was direct. Drivers should avoid holding confidential conversations in or near their vehicles, and should refrain from using cars equipped with external cameras when travelling to sensitive locations.

The Chinese Car Surge in the UK

The warning lands at a moment of significant market disruption. Chinese-owned brands now account for 15% of all new cars registered in the United Kingdom, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders — nearly 175,000 vehicles in the first half of 2026, more than double the figure recorded in the same period the previous year. The growth has been driven by MG, BYD and Jaecoo, whose parent company Chery is part-owned by the Chinese state. The Jaecoo 7 was the UK’s bestselling car in March.

Their appeal is straightforward: competitive pricing and sophisticated in-car technology. That same technology is now at the centre of a security debate that reaches into Westminster and Whitehall.

UK Government and Military Response

British defence firms working on government contracts reportedly cautioned staff last year against pairing their phones with Chinese-made electric vehicles, citing fears that Beijing could extract sensitive data from connected devices. The Ministry of Defence subsequently stated it was working with other government departments “to understand and mitigate any potential threats to national security” posed by such vehicles.

Reports this year indicate the MoD has gone further, banning vehicles containing Chinese components from sensitive military installations, including RAF Wyton in Cambridgeshire and the Dorset headquarters of the Special Boat Service. MPs have separately raised the structural concern that China’s national intelligence law legally compels its companies to assist state intelligence services upon request — a statutory obligation that sits at the heart of the security argument.

MI5 Issues Parallel Warning on Academic Espionage

On the same day the AIVD released its vehicle-security guidance, MI5 issued a rare public warning directed at UK universities. The domestic intelligence agency instructed institutions to cease cooperation with the China General Technology Research Institute, which it described as a front organisation used by Beijing’s intelligence apparatus to fund research by British academics and extract the intellectual property of high-technology projects.

The Chinese embassy in London responded with a strongly worded denial, dismissing the accusations as “imaginary and purely fabricated.” The convergence of both warnings in a single day signals a coordinated effort by Western security services to raise public and institutional awareness of Chinese intelligence activity across multiple domains simultaneously.