🇨🇳🇮🇱⚡In an unprecedented move, the Israeli army has begun taking back Chinese-made cars from its military officers. This decision was ordered by the Chief of Staff and follows warnings from security agencies about the serious risk of "leaking sensitive information" through the smart systems of these vehicles.
In the first phase, cars belonging to officers with access to confidential information will be collected, and by the end of the first quarter of 2026, about 700 cars — mostly Chery models given to officers with large families — will be reclaimed.
Security experts have explained that some Chinese cars are equipped with systems including cameras, microphones, sensors, and communication technologies that can send data to external servers, sometimes without the user's or local representative's knowledge. A former senior officer said: "Every smart car is essentially a mobile computer with a closed operating system and wireless communications that have the potential to collect information near sensitive infrastructures."
This Israeli action is part of a similar global trend; countries like the United States and the United Kingdom have also banned the use of Chinese cars in sensitive security areas. Informed sources said the recent decision is also related to security relations between Israel and Washington amid economic tensions between the U.S. and China.
The Israeli army has refrained from official comment on this matter.
🇨🇳🇮🇱⚡In an unprecedented move, the Israeli army has begun taking back Chinese-made cars from its military officers. This decision was ordered by the Chief of Staff and follows warnings from security agencies about the serious risk of "leaking sensitive information" through the smart systems of these vehicles.
In the first phase, cars belonging to officers with access to confidential information will be collected, and by the end of the first quarter of 2026, about 700 cars — mostly Chery models given to officers with large families — will be reclaimed.
Security experts have explained that some Chinese cars are equipped with systems including cameras, microphones, sensors, and communication technologies that can send data to external servers, sometimes without the user's or local representative's knowledge. A former senior officer said: "Every smart car is essentially a mobile computer with a closed operating system and wireless communications that have the potential to collect information near sensitive infrastructures."
This Israeli action is part of a similar global trend; countries like the United States and the United Kingdom have also banned the use of Chinese cars in sensitive security areas. Informed sources said the recent decision is also related to security relations between Israel and Washington amid economic tensions between the U.S. and China.
The Israeli army has refrained from official comment on this matter.
One thing that Telegram now offers to all users is the ability to “disappear” messages or set remote deletion deadlines. That enables users to have much more control over how long people can access what you’re sending them. Given that Russian law enforcement officials are reportedly (via Insider) stopping people in the street and demanding to read their text messages, this could be vital to protect individuals from reprisals. At the start of 2018, the company attempted to launch an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) which would enable it to enable payments (and earn the cash that comes from doing so). The initial signals were promising, especially given Telegram’s user base is already fairly crypto-savvy. It raised an initial tranche of cash – worth more than a billion dollars – to help develop the coin before opening sales to the public. Unfortunately, third-party sales of coins bought in those initial fundraising rounds raised the ire of the SEC, which brought the hammer down on the whole operation. In 2020, officials ordered Telegram to pay a fine of $18.5 million and hand back much of the cash that it had raised. Telegram boasts 500 million users, who share information individually and in groups in relative security. But Telegram's use as a one-way broadcast channel — which followers can join but not reply to — means content from inauthentic accounts can easily reach large, captive and eager audiences. "Like the bombing of the maternity ward in Mariupol," he said, "Even before it hits the news, you see the videos on the Telegram channels." However, the perpetrators of such frauds are now adopting new methods and technologies to defraud the investors.
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