The same Chinese company that makes electric buses now under review in Denmark and Norway also has buses on Australian roads, sparking concern among cybersecurity experts.
Norwegian transport operator ruter published test results last week that showed bus-maker Yutong Group had access to buses’ control systems for software updates and diagnostics on the model they tested.
“In theory, this could be exploited to affect the bus,” it said, explaining the bus could be remotely turned off.
On the company’s Australian website, yutong Australia said it had “delivered” more than 1,500 vehicles here since 2012.
However, only 133 low-floor city buses and about 12 charter or coach buses in Australia were battery electric, said a spokesperson for VDI, the Australian distributor of Yutong vehicles.
they added that,in Australia,the practice was to update software physically at service centres rather than remotely.
ruter did not name the model of “brand new Yutong bus” it tested and a Yutong spokesperson told the ABC the bus in the spotlight in Norway “is not the same model as the Yutong buses operating in Australia”.
Broader issue with ‘connected vehicles’
However, cybersecurity expert Alastair MacGibbon said it was a “moot point” whether the bus model raising concern in Europe was in Australia.
Mr MacGibbon, chief strategy officer at CyberCX and former head of the Australian Cyber Security Center, said all “connected” vehicles, and particularly electric vehicles, required constant connectivity with manufacturers who have access to microphones, cameras, and GPS devices.
“They have to be able to update software and firmware. That means they can degrade the device, tur
Yutong buses are used in multiple states and territories in australia, including in Canberra.
Transport Canberra signed a contract in may 2023 for the supply of 90 electric battery Yutong E12 buses, with the first of these 90 buses delivered in May 2024, according to the agency’s 2023-24 annual report.
Transport Canberra has been contacted for comment.
yutong australia’s website says it has workshops and dealer support in all major Australian cities including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Cairns.
Dennis Desmond, a cybersecurity expert at the University of the Sunshine Coast, said he remained “vrey concerned” about several issues.
This included around software “being pushed to the vehicle to include any updates or fixes, espec