Cameras fitted to a fleet of Royal Navy surveillance drones used by Britain’s elite special forces were found sending data to an internet address in China, raising concerns about security vulnerabilities in military equipment and defence supply chains. The security breach was discovered during a routine cyber assessment of the K3 Scout drones, a £12 million ($16.2 million) fleet operated by the Royal Marines, per The Telegraph. The drones are also expected to be used in planned operations in the Persian Gulf. The drones were fitted with camera components manufactured in China. During the security assessment, analysts found that the camera systems were establishing outbound connections to a server located in China. The cameras were sending automated “heartbeat” communications, small data packets designed to tell a remote server that a device is switched on and operating.

Full report : U.K. Discovers Component in Its Naval Drones Sent Signals to China.