British Navy sea drones have been found to contain a Chinese-made component that sent communication signals to an IP address in China.
According to The Telegraph, cameras in the Royal Navy's K3 Scout surveillance drones reportedly sent what's known as a heartbeat communication, or "squark," where a connected device pings an external IP address to confirm that it's powered on and functioning. The signal was discovered during a "routine cyber vulnerability assessment," the British Ministry of Defense said, however, the MoD noted that there was no evidence of a serious breach of systems or data.
"A thorough investigation found no evidence of MoD data or systems being accessed, compromised or transmitted externally," said an MoD spokesperson.
The United Kingdom bans the use of Chinese parts in military equipment. Although Kraken Technology Group — the U.K.-based defense contractor that supplied the K3 Scout drone — had sourced the cameras from an overseas third-party manufacturer, the company said that it had been given assurances about the security of the component.
The K3 had been in use since March, with the breach now having forced the MoD to remove all internet connectivity from the drones' cameras. The drones were also part of a defense package that had been offered to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.
