Norway’s military rents Chinese cars with dashcams, and, surprise, they record military exercises

Chinese cars from Chinese-owned Hertz Norway were found to contain recordings of a “secret exercise” and even military gate codes, reports Norwegian media. However, cyber pros note that this alone doesn’t prove deliberate espionage – a 360° dash camera is a feature of Deepal models, which were reportedly involved in the incident.

The Norwegian Armed Forces used leased cars that were found to contain recordings of Home Guard soldiers, a “secret exercise,” and even military gate codes, according to a report by the Norwegian outlet DN.

The cars were rented from Hertz Norge (First Rent A Car Norway AS), an operator owned by Volvo Cars, which is part of Geely, a Chinese automotive conglomerate.

Lieutenant Fredrik Blanck is quoted as saying that the footage reveals who gets in and out of the car, who’s driving and where, who the passengers are, and how long the car stays at each location.

At least 2 of the cars involved in the incident were Deepal models, manufactured by the Chinese state-owned automaker Changan Automobile.

Due to “limited availability of alternative vehicles,” the cars were used in the Operation Capital (Operasjon Hovedstad) exercise in September.

The incident became national news, raising questions about data and operational security of the Norwegian Armed Forces, as well as military use of civilian technologies. It’s unknown if the data ever left the vehicles.

But is it espionage?

Cybersecurity experts were quick to point out that, while the risks are real, they’re not exclusive to Chinese cars. The incident exposes vulnerabilities in the Norwegian military’s practices and should not be framed as a Chinese espionage story.

The vehicle brand and ownership structure alone don't prove deliberate espionage – nearly all modern connected cars collect sensitive information and often sell it to multiple third parties, as a recent study has unveiled.

Cars collect sensitive information through cameras, GPS, microphones, and other sensors, as well as onboard computers.

While the reports do not identify the exact Deepal model involved, a built-in 360° dash camera is a commonly advertised feature across the lineup.

“Those rental cars had dashcams – as cars do – that the soldiers mistakenly kept on. At one point, some soldiers found out about that: they were clicking through the car menus out of boredom and stumbled on the footage, including clips of themselves typing gate codes in front of the camera. They deleted the footage,” one of the reactions reads on X, written by Arnaud Bertrand, an entrepreneur.

Volvo Cars also denied to Norwegian media that Chinese ownership involves a security risk and said that no data can be shared with Geely without a legal basis.

A counterargument could be made that Beijing already has surveillance laws requiring companies to assist state intelligence efforts.

And Norway’s National Threat Assessment 2026 concluded that Chinese intelligence and security agencies had expanded their capacity to conduct operations in Norway, including in cyberspace and through human intelligence sources, writes Information and Analytical Center “Militarnyi.”

“The military uses rented cars for exercises. Genius. After finding out that rented cars have cameras to record, which is common in Asia, not just China, for on-road accidents, they decided to continue using such cars,” noted one of the Cybersecurity community members on Reddit.

Others argued that the issue extends beyond state security: are consumers really comfortable with vehicles recording audio, video, and sending all the data to remote servers?

The Norwegian military is aware of the risks involved – last year's risk assessment by the country’s National Security Authority NSM warned that modern cars contain more than 200 electronic sensors.

Israel banned Chinese vehicles from entering military bases last year.