❯ US Energy Department lab, at industry’s request, probes security risks of Chinese LiDAR in vehicles

WHOTechCrunch reported on August 21 that the Idaho National Laboratory, under the US Department of Energy, is evaluating the security risks that Chinese-made LiDAR sensors could pose once installed at scale in American vehicles. What stands out is the funding source — the research is financed by one or more companies in the EV and autonomous-driving industry, not a government-initiated project.

CONCERNSThe executing body is the Idaho National Laboratory. Lawmakers and security officials have previously flagged two risks: the sensors could transmit sensitive information back, and they could be remotely disabled en masse — causing moving vehicles to lose control and stationary ones to be bricked outright. A policy gap remains: the Commerce Department’s 2025 rule prohibits Chinese-made connected hardware in US passenger vehicles, but autonomous-driving sensors such as LiDAR fall outside the ban. Congress has introduced at least two bills to close the gap. In July, Hesai, a Chinese LiDAR maker with ties to Nvidia, was also flagged for cyber risks.

WHY NOWThe timing is driven by cost. LiDAR unit prices have fallen sharply in recent years, and US automakers have reached the point of deploying them at scale — so security scrutiny has followed. The industry is paying for assessments ahead of regulation because automakers’ supplier changeover cycles span years, far slower than the legislative cycle: switching suppliers now is a cost issue; switching after the bill lands is a delivery issue. What to watch next is whether the two bills extend the ban list to sensors.

▪ SIGNALIt’s the automakers themselves funding the supplier vetting — a sign the industry no longer expects policy to deliver the answer first.