Internet-connected vehicles could expose sensitive military and government facilities, Stephan Kramer has warned
Tesla vehicles could pose an espionage risk, Stephan Kramer, the head of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency (BfV) in the state of Thuringia, has warned. His remarks come as German officials call for restrictions on parking internet-connected cars near sensitive government and military facilities.
Tesla is an American company led by Elon Musk, a close ally of US President Donald Trump. The electric carmaker operates a major factory near Berlin, making it one of the few foreign automakers with a significant manufacturing presence in Germany.
Kramer was commenting on the Bundeswehr’s decision to restrict access by internet-connected vehicles to sensitive areas of military bases. The measures apply regardless of manufacturer, including Tesla.
“We should not assume that friends do not spy on one another,” Kramer told Handelsblatt on Friday. “The same security standards should apply to Tesla and all other manufacturers.”
According to the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), Germany’s digital security watchdog, most new vehicles sold in the country have the technical capability to collect information, including location data, camera footage and sensor readings, and transmit it to manufacturers’ back-end systems.
There is no specific evidence so far that such data has been used for espionage, Handelsblatt reported. According to the BSI, customers are often unaware of exactly what data their vehicles generate and transmit.
“The cameras and location-tracking systems in [internet-connected] cars capture sensitive information,” Kramer warned. “At Bundeswehr facilities, that includes information about military installations, operational procedures and personnel,” he said, describing the restrictions as “strongly advisable and therefore proportionate.”
The intelligence chief called for similar restrictions in “particularly sensitive areas of government buildings, police facilities, intelligence agencies and other security-relevant institutions,” including designated parking zones or access limitations.
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