Is your car spying on you? When Australians buy a new car today, they’re buying much more than a powered machine that can move them from point A to point B in a high degree of comfort and safety. They’re also buying something that can rightly be described as a computer on wheels. The increasing complexity of modern vehicles Cars have long been known as one of the most complex mass-manufactured products on the planet, but the degree of complexity in modern automobiles is changing rapidly as consumers expect the same levels of connectivity they have at home and at work to be available in their vehicles. The rise of connected vehicles Car makers are responding with vehicles that have the ability to connect to the internet, sync with smartphones and mirror on infotainment screens the apps, websites and other internet-enabled services used when not in the car. These so-called connected vehicles are also quietly collecting data in the background, something that has raised concerns with privacy advocates, politicians and the military. National attention on connected vehicle security Last November, the topic became the focus of national attention when reports emerged of thousands of Chinese‑made connected cars being stored near RAAF Base Amberley in South East Queensland. Most, if not all of these vehicles would have been equipped with multiple cameras which are an integral part of modern driver assistance systems, as well a microphone array that provides listening capability for their voice control systems, automatic speech recognition software, and internet connectivity via 4G, 5G or Wi-Fi. China doesn’t have a monopoly on connected vehicles, of course, but given the complex and sometimes difficult relationship Australia has with its largest trading partner it’s understandable why a car park full of internet-enabled Chinese vehicles near our largest operational air base might