Mounting national security concerns have prompted the U.S. Commerce Department to issue a final rule forbidding the utilization of Chinese and Russian connected car software and hardware in U.S. passenger vehicles by model years 2027 and 2030, respectively, reports ABC News.
Aside from banning the inclusion of Vehicle Connectivity System software and hardware, as well as Automated Driving System software developed by Chinese and Russian vendors in vehicles sold in the U.S., both China- and Russia-linked automobile manufacturers have also been barred from selling cars with such tech — even those made in the U.S. — within the country, according to the rule. Such a rule was noted by a senior administration official to garner support from the U.S. automotive industry. "Recent malicious cyber activity, particularly activity that they do that was Volt Typhoon has really heightened the urgency of preempting even more risk to our critical infrastructure, and we've seen not just Volt Typhoon, but really mounting evidence of the PRC pre-positioning malware in our critical infrastructure, solely for the purpose of sabotage and disruption," said the official.