British K3 Scout USVs Sent Data to China via Cameras

British K3 Scout unmanned surface vehicles used by personnel from the elite Special Boat Service and Royal Marines were secretly transmitting data to a Chinese IP address.

The source of the information leak was surveillance cameras installed on the unmanned boats, The Telegraph reports.

Their components were found to contain Chinese-made parts that sent so-called ‘heartbeat communications’ to China – technical data used to confirm that the device is connected to the network.

The disclosure has raised serious concerns among military commanders over the risk of sensitive information about special forces personnel and ongoing operations being leaked.

The fleet of 12 maritime drones, worth £12 million, entered service with the Royal Marines in March this year.

The developer and supplier of the unmanned boats is British company Kraken Technology Group, which purchased the cameras from a third-party manufacturer under security assurances.

K3 Scout USVs were planned for missions aimed at ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

In addition, the cameras remained active even when the drones themselves were completely powered off and could record closed-door meetings involving special forces personnel.

After the threat was discovered, the UK Ministry of Defence completely disconnected the cameras from the internet and launched an investigation.

The UK Ministry of Defence said that its investigation found no evidence that classified data or internal systems had been transmitted or compromised.

Kraken Technology Group, the developer of the boats, said the equipment complied with US NDAA standards and that all potential system vulnerabilities had already been addressed.

It is worth recalling that, with the support of the Royal Navy, British companies Kraken and Capewell carried out the world’s first deployment of a maritime boat into the water from a military transport aircraft.