Vernetzte Fahrzeuge: Verfassungsschutz warnt Politiker vor Spionage im Auto

German security agencies are increasingly worried that Chinese-made cars may be used for espionage. Dutch intelligence agency AIVD warned that state actors could access data of vehicle occupants and their surroundings. The German Federal Ministry of the Interior also sees risks, especially when companies are obliged to share data.

The AIVD recommends protective measures. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) stated that people with access to sensitive information are particularly vulnerable. This includes individuals in "isolated" government, political or economic positions. Politicians, journalists and employees of critical infrastructure could also be at an increased spying risk.

The warnings come amid heightened debate over China. State subsidies and market access barriers have pressured Western companies for years, while Chinese economic and scientific espionage aims for technological know-how in Germany. Connected vehicles could open further access to sensitive information. The top leaders of the Union and Social Democratic Party (SPD) are scheduled to discuss the handling of China in the coalition committee meeting on Wednesday, primarily focusing on how to better protect domestic economy from unfair Chinese trade practices.

Specifically, China has created oversupply in industries, flooding the domestic market with below-cost products, putting pressure on domestic manufacturers. In a joint paper, the SPD-led ministries demand more stringent measures against these trade distortions, urging the EU's existing trade protection instruments to be more efficiently used and new ones created.

The Dutch AIVD issued its security notice last Wednesday, naming no countries or car brands. The warning generally applies to the technical systems of connected cars that collect, store and transmit data. Precise movement profiles of individuals could be created from sufficient data, according to the constitutional protection office.

This could reveal visits to ministries, military institutions or security-relevant companies. A data leak in VW's Cariad subsidiary in 2024 showed how extensive such data collections could be, with location data for 800,000 electric cars publicly accessible. The constitutional protection office explicitly names China, referring to Article 7 of the National Intelligence Agency Act: Since 2017, citizens and companies have been obliged to cooperate with the intelligence services and support them to the "best possible extent".

The Federal Ministry of the Interior currently assumes abstract risks of misuse when using the resulting data, especially when there are state obligations for data sharing, according to a spokesperson for the handelsblatt. Connected vehicles have highly complex systems that generate, store and transmit large amounts of data, the spokesperson explained. Specific insights were not provided.