DOE Lab Examines Security Risks of Chinese Lidar in U.S. Autonomous Vehicles

A Department of Energy-run Idaho National Laboratory has launched a review of Chinese lidar sensors to determine if they present security hazards when integrated into U.S. autonomous-vehicle systems. The effort, financed by one or more electric-vehicle and self-driving-car companies, remains opaque, and major automakers and tech firms have either denied knowledge or not responded. Chinese manufacturers Hesai and RoboSense have not replied to inquiries.

Congressional leaders such as Senator Tammy Baldwin and Representative John Moolenaar are sponsoring bills to ban or limit Chinese lidar, citing fears of military espionage and potential “back doors.” Security specialist Omer Keilaf of Innoviz highlighted risks including mass disabling of sensors and the ease of compressing lidar data for transmission to hostile actors. The review comes as Chinese lidar prices have fallen dramatically, prompting U.S. makers to consider Chinese components despite previous supply-chain concerns.