Australia’s spy agency issued a stark warning to politicians and public servants last week: do not discuss sensitive or classified information in vehicles.

Speaking at senate estimates, ASIO Deputy Director-General Lisa Alonso Love said the warning concerned “any vehicle, whether it’s connected or not”. But she added that “connected vehicles” may come with additional risks for data collection. Her advice was that classified conversations should occur only in properly secured locations, not while travelling.

The warning came after seven models of Chinese electric vehicles were added to the list of taxpayer-funded cars available to federal politicians, representing 30% of the vehicles now available under the parliamentarian vehicle scheme.

But this is not just a problem with electric cars, nor cars manufactured in China. Connected vehicles of any kind come with several privacy and national security risks.

What are ‘connected cars’?

According to the Australian Signals Directorate, any vehicle that is connected to the internet, either through an embedded SIM card or a paired smartphone, can be considered a connected vehicle.

Almost all major cars sold in Australia with “connected services” collect and transmit driver and passenger data to the vehicle manufacturer.

A study by consulting firm McKinsey found 50% of........

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