Israeli Defence Forces Dump BYD Atto3 Electric SUV Over 'Data Transmission To China' Fears

The State of Israel is currently undergoing a lot of tensions due to its war with Palestine and Iran. As a result of these tensions, the Israeli Ministry of Defence is on high alert. Recently, it has been reported that the defence ministry of Israel has suspended the deployment of Chinese electric cars, particularly BYD cars. As per Ynet, these vehicles have been deemed as “mobile intelligence platforms" and are suspected of transmitting sensitive Israeli data to China.

BYD cars deployment for IDF halted

According to the reports, Israel's Ministry of Defence has halted the deployment of the BYD electric vehicle — BYD Atto 3 — for IDF officers. Recently, a new batch of BYD Atto 3 electric SUVs was delivered and intended to be used as official vehicles for IDF lieutenant colonels. However, after their electronic systems were inspected, the plans of deployment were stopped.

It was highlighted by the Israeli intelligence that there are a lot of potential security concerns over the use of BYD and other Chinese vehicles. Sources have stated that there is a possibility that Chinese vehicles are collecting sensitive data and transmitting it to China via the advanced communication and sensor systems of the vehicles.

There have been claims made by many cybersecurity experts that the Chinese-manufactured vehicles are acting as intelligence tools. They have capabilities of espionage through audio, video, geolocation, and biometric data collection. Before this ban came into effect, the Israeli Ministry of Defence was using over 600 electric vehicles, including MG ZS EV and Cherry Tiggo 8.

As per the reports, these vehicles were even deployed in high-security areas like the Ministry of Defence headquarters located in Tel Aviv. The Israeli Defence Ministry, after the cybersecurity concerns, forcibly disabled the e-Call emergency communication system of the Chinese electric vehicles to reduce the risk.

Expert opinions

Recently, Dr. Harel Menashri, who is a founding member of the cybersecurity division at Shabak (Israel Security Agency), highlighted that there is a lot of potential risk in using Chinese electric vehicles. It was added that the precautions that have been placed are not adequate, and Chinese electric vehicles can gather and transmit sensitive data to servers potentially located in China.

Could BYD vehicles be spying on Indians as well?

At the moment, BYD electric vehicles are becoming popular in India. So, this new report from Israel is slightly concerning, as the same data transmission could be happening through BYD cars in India.

Presently, there is no concrete evidence of such sensitive data transmission. However, most likely there has not been any thorough cybersecurity check done by the authorities. So, until that happens, nothing can be confirmed.

BYD Atto 3

The vehicle from BYD which has been banned by the Israeli Ministry of Defence is the Atto 3 electric SUV. In India, it starts at Rs 24.99 lakh and goes up to Rs 33.99 lakh. The Atto 3 comes equipped with a front-mounted electric motor, which produces 201 bhp and 310 Nm of torque. As for the battery packs, it is offered with two LFP battery options — a 49.9 kWh unit with a claimed range of 468 km and a 60.5 kWh with 521 km of range.