The UK is investigating China's ability to remotely shut down buses.Buses in London

 

Buses in London

The UK is investigating China's ability to remotely shut down buses.

The UK government is investigating the possibility that hundreds of Chinese-made electric buses on British roads could be remotely disabled, in the latest sign of concern about Beijing's role in the country's infrastructure.
Transportation officials are working with the National Cyber ​​Security Centre to assess whether Yutong, the world's largest bus manufacturer, has remote access to the control systems of these vehicles to perform software updates and diagnostics.

This investigation follows a Norwegian inquiry that found Yutong buses could be "decommissioned or rendered inoperable" by the Zhengzhou-based company. These findings also prompted Denmark to conduct its own review, according to a report in the Financial Times, seen by Al Arabiya Business.
Yutong supplied the British market with around 700 buses, mainly in Nottingham, South Wales and Glasgow, and they are operated by groups such as Stagecoach and FirstBus.

The company hopes to sell more buses in London, where it has developed a double-decker electric bus that meets Transport for London's standards.
The UK Department for Transport said: "We are looking into the matter 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."

Transport for London said none of its operators had used or ordered Yutong buses, adding: "Any bus entering service in London must meet our strict technical requirements, including rigorous testing."
Yutong told the Sunday Times that it "strictly adheres to the laws, regulations and industry standards in place where its vehicles operate."

She added: "This data is used exclusively for vehicle maintenance, improvement, and development purposes to meet customers' after-sales service needs. The data is protected by storage encryption and access control procedures. No one is allowed to access or view this data without the customer's permission. Yutong is strictly committed to EU data protection laws and regulations."
Oslo's public transport company, Roter, said last month that it tested a new bus from Jutong and a three-year-old bus from the Dutch company VDL in an underground mine to check whether they could be hacked or used for intelligence purposes.

Router found that the Chinese company had remote access to its bus, including the battery management system and power supply. The VDL bus, however, did not have the same remote access capability.
"Theoretically, the manufacturer could stop or disable the Yutong bus," Rotter added, explaining that it could retain local control of the Chinese bus by removing its communication chip, through which all communications pass.
Movia, Denmark's largest public transport company, said it was also investigating the risks, but stressed that the problem was not limited to Chinese buses, but was common in many electric vehicles - including those made in Western countries - whose software could be updated remotely.