Ky Attorney General Calls on Federal Government to Protect Kentucky Drivers from Foreign Interference

Crack down on connected vehicles built in China

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Nov. 8, 2024) – Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman called on Washington to crack down on connected vehicles built in China that could endanger Kentucky families. He joined attorneys general across the country to express concerns about the ability of China and other adversaries to exploit networks and threaten critical infrastructure.

“We can’t risk the safety of Kentucky families or the future of our auto industry by allowing adversaries like China to place their potential high tech spy equipment in our garages,” said Attorney General Coleman. “We’re calling on the federal government to take bold action to protect our data and our infrastructure from those who wish us harm.”

In a letter to the Office of Information and Communications Technology Services, which falls under the U.S. Department of Commerce, the attorneys general showed how connected vehicles could provide foreign countries with access to sensitive data stored on vehicle systems including data gathered from phones, create exploitable access points to connected WiFi and other networks, and even threaten critical infrastructure through coordinated attacks by overloading a power grid through EV charging systems. 

“The stakes here are too great to ignore…our States’ citizens should not have to worry about whether the vehicles that ferry them to and from work, home, or school are really a weapon from abroad,” the attorneys general wrote.

The letter, signed by nearly two dozen attorney generals, including the neighboring states of West Virginia, Indiana and Tennessee, urged the U.S. government to take action and finalize a proposed rule tightening regulations as soon as possible.

Read the letter.

Throughout his first year in Office, General Coleman has taken strong steps to protect Kentucky families from the intrusion of the Chinese government. In October, General Coleman announced a lawsuit against TikTok, the Chinese-owned social media platform, for its addictive and harmful practices for Kentucky kids.

In January, he called on President Biden to crack down on a federal loophole that allowed fentanyl to be shipped into the United States from overseas, mainly from China. He has also challenged the Biden-Harris Administration’s nonsensical green agenda that targets coal-fired energy and the security of America’s grid, while new coal plant construction hit an all-time high in China last year.