Norwegian soldiers discovered that rental cars used during a military exercise had recorded their movements, military locations and security codes. A shortage of alternative vehicles forced the unit to continue using the cars, DN reported.

The recordings came to light during September’s Exercise Hovedstad, which involved preparations to protect Oslo Airport during wartime. Despite the discovery, the vehicles remained in use, including on military premises, according to Dagens Næringsliv (DN).

DN linked the cars, rented through Hertz, to China’s Geely group through Volvo Cars, which operates Hertz’s Norwegian rental business. One source identified at least two vehicles as Chinese Deepal cars.

Lieutenant Fredrik Blanck, who participated in the exercise, said personnel discovered the recordings while exploring a vehicle’s settings. They had neither activated the recording function nor received any information about it.

The footage captured people entering and leaving vehicles, pickup locations, routes and the time soldiers spent at different sites. It also recorded personnel entering security codes at military gates.

“In some cases, we use key cards in combination with codes to pass through gates. This was stored in video recordings,” Blanck said.

Two other sources familiar with the incident corroborated his account to DN. One said the Deepal vehicles had recorded extensive footage, including soldiers entering gate codes.

Blanck said his unit received no instructions on using the recording functions in its vehicles. With few alternatives available, withdrawing the cars would have significantly reduced its training capacity.

Personnel deleted recordings from the vehicles they could access after the exercise. However, they could not determine whether other cars contained footage or how the data would be handled afterwards.

“We don’t know where this ends up. Whether it is only stored locally or what happens to the data when the exercise is over,” Blanck said.

He warned that the footage could reveal deployment locations, patrol patterns, access routes, equipment and supply depots. Such information could give an outside actor a detailed picture of military operations. He also raised concerns about vehicle microphones potentially recording sensitive conversations.

The unit’s responsible personnel reportedly escalated the findings through a report.

Norway’s armed forces declined to answer DN’s specific questions about the recordings and the decision to keep using the vehicles.

Spokesperson Caroline E. Lysne said the military recognised the risks associated with vehicles and other electronic equipment. However, it did not consider a blanket ban on vehicles from specific countries appropriate.

“Such a ban would provide limited security gains compared with the practical disadvantages for the armed forces, employees and suppliers,” she said.

Lysne said military units maintained physical and electronic safeguards against the collection of sensitive information.

Volvo Cars rejected claims that its ownership posed a security risk. The company said it could not share data with Geely without a clear legal basis. First Rent a Car Norway said it complied with Norwegian and European law.

Chinese rental cars record Norwegian military exercises: Report

Norwegian soldiers discovered that rental cars used during a military exercise had recorded their movements, military locations and security codes. A shortage of alternative vehicles forced the unit to continue using the cars, DN reported.

The recordings came to light during September’s Exercise Hovedstad, which involved preparations to protect Oslo Airport during wartime. Despite the discovery, the vehicles remained in use, including on military premises, according to Dagens Næringsliv (DN).

DN linked the cars, rented through Hertz, to China’s Geely group through Volvo Cars, which operates Hertz’s Norwegian rental business. One source identified at least two vehicles as Chinese Deepal cars.

Lieutenant Fredrik Blanck, who participated in the exercise, said personnel discovered the recordings while exploring a vehicle’s settings. They had neither activated the recording function nor received any information about it.

The footage captured people entering and leaving vehicles, pickup locations, routes and the time soldiers spent at different sites. It also recorded personnel entering security codes at military gates.

“In some cases, we use key cards in combination with codes to pass through gates. This was stored in video recordings,” Blanck said.

Two other sources familiar with the incident corroborated his account to DN. One said the Deepal vehicles had recorded extensive footage, including soldiers entering gate codes.

Blanck said his unit received no instructions on using the recording functions in its vehicles. With few alternatives available, withdrawing the cars would have significantly reduced its training capacity.

Personnel deleted recordings from the vehicles they could access after the exercise. However, they could not determine whether other cars contained footage or how the data would be handled afterwards.

“We don’t know where this ends up. Whether it is only stored locally or what happens to the data when the exercise is over,” Blanck said.

He warned that the footage could reveal deployment locations, patrol patterns, access routes, equipment and supply depots. Such information could give an outside actor a detailed picture of military operations. He also raised concerns about vehicle microphones potentially recording sensitive conversations.

The unit’s responsible personnel reportedly escalated the findings through a report.

Norway’s armed forces declined to answer DN’s specific questions about the recordings and the decision to keep using the vehicles.

Spokesperson Caroline E. Lysne said the military recognised the risks associated with vehicles and other electronic equipment. However, it did not consider a blanket ban on vehicles from specific countries appropriate.

“Such a ban would provide limited security gains compared with the practical disadvantages for the armed forces, employees and suppliers,” she said.

Lysne said military units maintained physical and electronic safeguards against the collection of sensitive information.

Volvo Cars rejected claims that its ownership posed a security risk. The company said it could not share data with Geely without a clear legal basis. First Rent a Car Norway said it complied with Norwegian and European law.