Danish Officials Scramble to Close Safety Gap in China-made E-powered Buses

Authorities from Denmark are urgently studying how to close an apparent protection gap in many China-produced electric buses that enables them to be shut down from a distance.

Probe Prompted by Discoveries in Neighboring Country

The investigation comes after transport authorities in Norway, where the Yutong buses are also in service, determined that the manufacturer from China had online connectivity for software updates and troubleshooting to the vehicles’ control systems – which might be misused to affect buses while in transit.

“These trials exposed threats that we are now working to mitigate,” stated the head of the public transport authority. “Federal and regional authorities have been informed and must assist with further actions at a federal level.”

Proposed Fix and Its Drawbacks

Their analysis determined that distant shutdown could be prevented by extracting the buses’ sim cards, but they have not done this because it would also cut off the bus from support services.

• Tighter safety requirements for future procurements
• Acting before the arrival of next generation of buses
• Anticipating vehicles that could be tighter connected and harder to secure

Scale of the Problem in Denmark

The biggest Danish public transport company manages 469 China-made e-buses, with over 260 of these produced by Yutong.

“Electric transports – like electric cars – can be shut down remotely if their digital systems have online access,” explained a senior operations executive. “This isn't just a China-made vehicle problem. It is a problem for all types of vehicles and systems with Chinese electronics built in.”

Government Assessment and Alerts

Government bodies for public safety and emergency management reported that it was not aware of any actual occurrences in which electric buses had been disabled, but warned that the vehicles were equipped with “component networks with internet connectivity and sensors (cameras, audio recorders, location tracking) that can create security gaps which could be exploited to interrupt bus operations”.

Manufacturer Response and Data Security

Yutong declared it “strictly complies with governing rules and industry standards” and that bus system information in the EU were kept at a data center in Frankfurt.

“This data is used solely for transport servicing, improvement and improvement to meet post-purchase service demands,” added a company representative. “The data is protected by information scrambling and permission systems. Nobody is permitted to view this data without customer authorisation.”

Government Response and Concerns

An elected official said that Denmark has been “way too slow” when it came to dependency regarding Chinese companies.

“This is a huge problem. We cannot afford to be so reliant upon a country that has principles and beliefs so unlike Denmark,” he continued. While Denmark was working to boost its resilience amid accusations of mixed warfare by Russia, “it's hardly robust to be totally dependent on China”.

Transportation authorities in Norway declined to comment on the matter.