Researchers drove a NIO ES8 electric SUV deep into a Norwegian underground mine specifically to sever its external connections. The car kept attempting to reach servers, most of them located in China. These findings echo broader concerns about hidden data collection, similar to how a surveillance app was built to covertly target users without their knowledge.

That finding sits at the center of Project Lion Cage, a multi-year study initiated in 2022 by Tor Indstøy, a risk management and threat intelligence executive at Telenor Group. Indstøy purchased the NIO ES8 as a dedicated research platform.

The project arrives as Chinese EV brands expand across European markets with assurances about local data processing. Observed network behavior appears to contradict those assurances.

  • SapphironZA@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    22
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    1 day ago

    Your ranking is missing the top spot. Here is the revised list

    1. US corporations
    2. Chinese government
    3. US government …
    • Doomsider@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      16
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      1 day ago

      I think the damage US corporations have done is truly unparalleled. When it comes to big tech China still pales in comparison in the Western world. That is until you consider Tik Tok, which is the most influential of social media for the under 30 market. Is Tik Tok really a bad influence or better or worse than something like Facebook is very debatable as well.

      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        7
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        17 hours ago

        That is until you consider Tik Tok

        Wasn’t the big concern with TikTok entirely around how people were talking about the Palestine Genocide while US controlled social media had effectively blacked it out?

        • Doomsider@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          arrow-down
          2
          ·
          16 hours ago

          Lol probably, Tik Tok is also a lot different for the American audience. Things that would never be allowed in China, especially for young adults, are permitted in the US. Of course you could argue they are just doing what US companies do in the free for all that is social media.

      • SapphironZA@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        10
        ·
        1 day ago

        I would argue that Tiktok would not have such an outsized effect if US corporations had not turned people into wage slaves.