UK Naval Drones Transmitted Data to Chinese IP Address

The Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom discovered that cameras on a fleet of K3 Scout uncrewed surface vessels, used by the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, were transmitting heartbeat communications to an IP address in China. The £12 million fleet, supplied by Kraken Technology Group, had been in use since March and was deployed near sensitive security meetings, including preparations for a defense package for the Strait of Hormuz and operations near the Special Boat Service headquarters in Poole.

Officials identified the vulnerability during a routine cyber security assessment. The Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom stripped the cameras of internet connectivity and launched a review, stating that a thorough investigation found no evidence of military data or systems being accessed or compromised. Kraken Technology Group, which sourced the cameras from a third party, confirmed that a small number of components in the NDAA-compliant cameras originated outside the UK. The company stated that an audit with the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom confirmed no sensitive information was shared and that the vulnerabilities have been closed.

The incident has sparked national security alarms regarding Chinese espionage and the vulnerability of military supply chains. Shadow security minister Alicia Kearns called for urgent scrutiny of military equipment containing Chinese components, arguing that the government cannot claim sovereignty if it lacks confidence in the contents of its own equipment. The discovery comes as Kraken Technology Group recently secured a $49 million contract with the United States Special Operations Command.