British defense officials have disabled connectivity on Royal Navy surveillance drones after cameras containing Chinese-made components were found transmitting signals to an IP address in China, according to a media report Monday.
The drones, manufactured by Kraken Technology Group and purchased by the Royal Navy in March, were equipped with cameras that suppliers had reportedly assured were secure, The Telegraph reported.
An investigation later found that the cameras were sending what were described as “heartbeat” signals to an IP address in China, prompting the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to remove their connectivity.
The drones have been used by British special forces and are expected to be deployed to the Strait of Hormuz as part of Britain’s efforts to help protect the strategically important waterway.
The MoD said there was no evidence that sensitive information had been compromised and that the identified vulnerabilities had since been addressed.
Defense sources cited by the newspaper, however, described the incident as a major security failure, raising questions over the use of foreign-made components in sensitive military equipment.
The discovery comes amid heightened scrutiny in Britain and other Western countries over potential security risks linked to Chinese-made technology used in critical infrastructure and defense systems.
