Cameras aboard the Royal Navy’s unmanned surface vessels (USVs) were found transmitting data back to China, prompting the UK Ministry of Defence to sever all internet access to the fleet.
A routine cyber assessment revealed that the devices in the 12-million-pound ($16.2-million) K3 Scout drone fleet used by the Royal Navy’s Special Boat Service were sending automated power-status signals to an internet protocol address in China, according to The Telegraph.
The vessels were supplied to the military earlier this year by British defense firm Kraken Technology Group, which developed the Scout using optical equipment sourced from a third-party vendor.
Read the full story on our new publication, The Drone Front: Cameras in British Special Ops Drone Boats Found Sending Data to China