Poland bans camera-packing cars made in China from military bases
- Reference: 1771480525
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2026/02/19/poland_china_car_ban/
- Source link:
A Tuesday [1]announcement from the country’s Ministry of Defence says the decision came after risk analysis of the potential for the many gadgets built into modern cars to allow “uncontrolled acquisition and use of data.”
The ban also prohibits officials connecting their work phones to infotainment systems in China-made cars.
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The ban isn’t permanent: the Ministry has called for development of a vetting process to allow carmakers to undergo a security assessment that, if passed, will mean their vehicles can enter protected facilities. Exemptions are also available for inspections carried out by state and local governments, and during rescues.
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Poland says its ban is in line with standards observed by NATO members and other countries.
The Register is not aware of any other nation announcing a specific ban on made-in-China cars, however most nations do not allow filming and recording on military premises. The USA has banned the use of software from China and Russia in connected cars, effectively banning cars made in both countries from its shores.
[5]
And in Australia, minister for cybersecurity Tony Burke acquired a made-in-China electric vehicle and reported it to relevant authorities who advised him on necessary precautions.
This ban could be hard to enforce because European automakers such as Volvo and Polestar make some of their models in China.
Bans on Chinese technology are nothing new, as many nations decided Huawei and ZTE kit should not be allowed into their telecoms network because they could facilitate snooping, either with backdoored tech or if Beijing used its powers to compel co-operation on intelligence operations from any Middle Kingdom company. Sources tell The Register the latter scenario was the greater risk, as network equipment vendors nearly always obtain records of their clients’ operations and that info is very useful intelligence.
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Whatever the truth of the matter, China managed to thoroughly infiltrate many networks through the [7]Salt Typhoon attacks .
[8]Polish cops nab 47-year-old man in Phobos ransomware raid
[9]Polish cops bail 20-year-old bedroom botnet operator
[10]Cyberattack on Poland's power grid could have turned deadly in winter cold
[11]Selling your identity to North Korean IT scammers isn't a sustainable side hustle
It’s been a busy week on the technology front for Poland’s military, as on Wednesday it [12]announced it will use Dell kit to power an AI implementation center that will work on a Polish-language AI model called “Bielik.” Poland plans to adapt the model, which was developed by a local company called SpeakLeash with [13]help from Intel , to power military applications. ®
Get our [14]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.wojsko-polskie.pl/sgwp/articles/aktualnosci-w/zakazu-wjazdu-pojazdow-mechanicznych-wyprodukowanych-w-chinskiej-republice-ludowej-na-tereny-chronionych-obiektow-wojskowych/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aZbtURGB8DOhkrG6Qf-NSAAAAQY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aZbtURGB8DOhkrG6Qf-NSAAAAQY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aZbtURGB8DOhkrG6Qf-NSAAAAQY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aZbtURGB8DOhkrG6Qf-NSAAAAQY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aZbtURGB8DOhkrG6Qf-NSAAAAQY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/12/30/att_verizon_confirm_salt_typhoon_breach/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/17/poland_phobos_ransomware_arrest/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/03/polish_cops_ddos_arrest/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/29/cyberattack_poland_power_grid/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/17/doj_north_korean_it_scam/
[12] https://www.gov.pl/web/obrona-narodowa/cyber-wojska-dell-technologies-polska-i-fundacja-speakleash-lacza-sily-w-obszarze-cyberbezpieczenstwa-i-sztucznej-inteligencji
[13] https://community.intel.com/t5/Blogs/Tech-Innovation/Artificial-Intelligence-AI/Bringing-Polish-AI-to-Life-Running-Bielik-LLMs-Natively-on-Intel/post/1735846
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: If some genius hadn't decided that all cars had to be connected
While you and I agree that these people need their heads read, some people like connectivity. It might be traffic alerts, accident monitoring, tracking a loved one (one hopes with their permission), music streaming or a work (fleet) vehicle with telematics. Maybe something else neither of us has thought of yet. There can be legitimate uses but also, obviously, significant pitfalls and vulnerabilities.
Re: If some genius hadn't decided that all cars had to be connected
. It might be traffic alerts, accident monitoring, tracking a loved one (one hopes with their permission), music streaming....
All of which can be done with my 5 year android phone connected to my 10 year old Hyundai.
"or a work (fleet) vehicle with telematics"
Because that hasn't been around for almost 2 decades now.
Similar Conclusion
I've slowly been coming to a similar conclusion: that buying a China-built electric car - or at least one where the electronics and software is supplied and maintained by a Chinese company - represents a very high risk. That's not related to going onto particular establishments or into sensitive areas in my case but that, after a war breaks out, the first thing I expect China to do is to cripple our transport systems, utilities, communications and any public infrastructure they can get to. That would include private motor vehicles being remotely disabled (or a sleeper process disabling it at a set time, after being 'armed').
It's tempting to suggest we should insist that, in order for critical China-built systems (including vehicles) to be sold in our domestic markets, the company must supply all source code. But, of course, there are a myriad number of ways that a remote-disable capability could be hidden outside visible source code.
Perhaps the government (of whatever Western nation you're in) should impose a 'risk premium' - in the form of an import duty - on China-built systems (including vehicles) to account for the probability and consequence of eventual espionage and/or disruption. But that'll never fly. The vast majority like their cheap goods, never properly evaluate risk and love to blame the messenger. And then there'd be the diplomatic fallout and economic retaliation from China.
Still, either you manage the risk or you leave yourself (i.e. much of the country) vulnerable.
Oh, and I pointed out some of these risks about eight or so years ago when I worked in a related field. Eight years is actually pretty good for a government response, even half-baked. Sigh.
Didn't they do this for Tesla too?
Tesla was banned earlier for the same reason, so nothing new here.
It seems it is time to adjust the parking spaces for "external cars", including their way to those places: Optical + IR obstruction, wall them in. Does not have to be expensive, wood is cheap and good enough.
UK Unofficial
Can't find official MOD guidance but seems that this is active already at certain sites in the UK.
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/366599/chinese-evs-banned-uk-military-sites-over-spying-concerns
Cool! A car stereo for 50€!
What about the influx of really cheap (like 50 bucks) android car entertainment systems? You know, the one you plug your rear/front cameras into and turn location on in order to use the navigation? The ones you plug in your car mic into, so you can phone handsfree while driving (most of them have a built-in mic anyway)?
They seem a bit late, given that China banned Teslas from going near its military bases ages ago
Digital security in the hands of the experts
At least the UK solar power infrastructure expansion based on chinese tech will be digitally secure ... Perhaps the minister doing the deal needs to be answering questions in Parliamentary committee about it? Oh he did ...
"Minister you are claiming to have made a major deal with the Chinese regarding renewable energy and solar power."
"Ask me any question about it and I'll answer."
"Is it secure - do the chinese have control of a remote cut-off switch?"
"Wibble! Ask me another!"
"What is the cost of the deal?"
"Wibble wibble. This is such fun! Ask me anything relevant, go on anything ..."
"What is this deal actually for?"
"Wibble. Can I borrow a pair of underpants and a couple of pencils please? Go on, ask a proper question this time."
For those who saw it, you may not have noticed but I have basically paraphrased Milliband's responses. I'm not sure which was worse, his complete ambivalence to questions about cyber security of power infrastructure developments or that he thought the whole thing was funny.
Electro-gizmo-cam-bleepers
My 15 year old car is getting more and more valuable.
No connectivity, but Bluetooth and no warning systems outside engine management and seat belt lights.
Even made locally.
Re: Electro-gizmo-cam-bleepers
And without mandatory auto-braking, lane assist, distance warnings I hope, like mine (eight years old now)...
If some genius hadn't decided that all cars had to be connected
Then it would be much simpler to identify those which were.
There may be use cases where internet connection is useful to the driver, but there are none I can sensibly come up with where it is essential - easily proven by observation: my thirty year old Fiat is neither more nor less capable than my seven year old Renault (deliberately poverty spec to avoid all the touch screen insanity but still with too much unnecessary tech for my taste: who ever thought replacing a handbrake cable with an electric motor requiring special software to be able to change the pads was a good idea?). And there is no obvious way in which continuous online connectivity is a benefit to me as the driver.