Synopsis
The entry of BYD into South Korea's EV market raises significant concerns over potential personal data leaks to China. Industry experts call for transparency in data collection and processing, along with a robust opt-out mechanism for consumers. Despite BYD's assurances, worries persist about data storage practices and cybersecurity vulnerabilities.Key Takeaways
- BYD's entry into South Korea's EV market raises data security concerns.
- Connected features in BYD vehicles could risk sensitive data exposure.
- Experts demand transparency in data practices from BYD.
- Concerns linger over the use of Tencent Cloud for data storage.
- Government inspections of BYD vehicles are necessary for cybersecurity.
Seoul, Feb 11 (NationPress) Following the recent entry of China's BYD into South Korea's passenger electric vehicle (EV) market, there are rising concerns about potential personal data leaks to China via the company’s vehicles, as noted by industry observers on Tuesday.
The security risks associated with private data leaks to China have surfaced after BYD's formal introduction into the South Korean passenger vehicle sector last month, according to reports from Yonhap news agency.
BYD’s initial model released here, the Atto 3, comes with connected car capabilities, including over-the-air (OTA) software updates and navigation features, which may allow sensitive driver information to be transmitted to China, as per market analysts.
“BYD needs to clearly disclose the types of data that are collected and the methods of processing,” stated Yom Heung-yeol, a professor emeritus of cybersecurity at Soonchunhyang University.
He emphasized the necessity of an “opt-out mechanism”, enabling consumers to refuse personal data collection if they wish.
In response to data protection worries, BYD Korea remarked, “We fully understand the concerns of Korean customers regarding personal data security and strictly adhere to the Personal Information Protection Act.”
The company clarified that data collected in South Korea is managed locally and not forwarded to BYD’s headquarters in China.
Furthermore, BYD has stated that it has no intentions of incorporating DeepSeek, a generative artificial intelligence (AI) service from China, into its vehicles.
Recently, the Chinese EV manufacturer Geely announced plans to integrate DeepSeek’s AI model into its own vehicles.
The recent introduction of DeepSeek has sparked global concerns over potential data leaks, leading South Korean government agencies and private firms to prohibit its use in the workplace.
Despite BYD's reassurances, concerns linger about the storage of Korean user data on Tencent Cloud servers, which are owned by a Chinese IT company.
Even though the data is managed locally within South Korea, the storage of Korean user data on a server affiliated with China has raised alarms among experts.
Lim Jong-in, professor emeritus at Korea University’s graduate school of information security, stated that the government needs to carry out stringent inspections of BYD vehicles not only in terms of performance but also concerning cybersecurity.
“Similar to the case with Huawei in the past, there might be vulnerabilities allowing third parties to exploit backdoor access and bypass security measures to access data,” Lim warned.
