British security services warn hundreds of EV buses have same Chinese 'kill switch' found in Norway and US

After reports from Norway and the US of a Chinese ‘kill switch’ on new EV buses, British intelligence has warned that those same buses in the UK might also have one.

Norway purchased the Chinese EVs, which are all-electric and manufactured by Yutong, primarily for use in the Norwegian capital of Oslo.

But reports came in of serious cybersecurity issues with the vehicles, with it being possible to access them remotely and shut the fleet down.

Now, security forces in the UK have warned that British buses may also have this infamous ‘kill switch’, making them susceptible to cybersecurity attacks.

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What the kill switch could do to British buses

The investigation into the EV buses has been conducted by Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre and Department for Transport.

These have also come from Yutong, and they seemingly have the infamous kill switch.

Chinese security services may be able to hack into them and interfere with them via SIM cards.

These cards are designed for use in performing software updates on vehicles.

At the time of writing, there was no evidence that Chinese security had accessed the vehicles.

But these concerns are not new, and we covered how Denmark and Norway, in particular, had found the potential security issue.

A security breach could see every bus in an operator’s fleet shut down, rendering them immobile.

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How fleets will avoid the EV buses shutting down

Norway is imposing stricter rules for the future procurement of Yutong buses.

Australia also has a fleet of Yutong buses, and it too is worried about the potential security risks involved.

Transport for New South Wales has 26 Yutong vehicles in its fleet.

Four of them operate in Brisbane, with trials also taking place in South Australia.

This has led to wider concerns regarding Chinese EVs as a whole.

Some are fearful that security breaches could see features like self-driving and battery management disabled without any prior warning.

Were this to happen on the move, it could lead to a serious accident.

Some countries have actually prohibited the purchase of the Yutong vehicles.

Whether any breaches actually do take place on the buses – and what purpose that would serve – remains to be seen.

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