Overview
- ASIO deputy director-general Lisa Alonso Love warned MPs and public servants on Thursday that they should not hold conversations containing sensitive or classified information while in any vehicle and that such talks belong only in spaces set up for classified discussions.
- The Australian Signals Directorate has found that modern telematics systems can record or transmit internal and external images, in-car audio, smartphone call and message logs, contacts, calendar entries, GPS location and driving-behaviour data to manufacturers or third parties.
- Austroads data cited in coverage shows connected vehicles are becoming the norm, with about 93 percent of new cars in Australia expected to be connected by 2031, which would widen the pool of devices that can collect and move data off shore.
- Coverage noted that more than 30 percent of vehicles offered under the parliamentary car scheme are Chinese-made electric models, prompting opposition calls for a review of the scheme even though no formal procurement or legal changes have been announced.
- The practical effect of the advisory is to change behaviour now: officials are urged to use designated classified spaces for sensitive talks and agencies may increase scrutiny of vehicle data flows and supplier arrangements as a follow-up step.