ASIO has delivered a clear warning to Australiaâs public servants not to discuss sensitive government information if they are travelling in internet-connected cars, over fears of electronic eavesdropping and the risk of espionage. The nationâs top spy agency says public servants and politicians need to be conscious of the fact that such vehicles can send realtime information back to the manufacturers. Appearing before a Senate Estimates committee, ASIO deputy director-general Lisa Alonso Love did not name vehicle brands or countries of manufacture. She said discussing classified information outside the workplace was always a risk. That risk could be even greater if sensitive conversations took place in internet-connected vehicles. âIn relation to any vehicle, whether itâs connected or not, we would suggest that Members of Parliament or public servants do not have conversations that contain sensitive or classified information,â she said. âObviously, a connected car may have other vectors to gather that information, but those conversations should only ever happen in places that are set up for classified conversations. âAnd we would say that people should be conscious of the things that they are discussing in vehicles, knowing that people may be able to get that information.â Ms Alonso Love made those remarks in response to a question about whether MPs should avoid driving in Chinese-made vehicles. Internet-connected cars contain in-built SIMs and can pair to smartphones and communicate with a range of devices. Connected vehicles are among the available options for federal parliamentarians as part of their taxpayer-funded car allowance. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has previously been questioned over his decision to drive a Chinese-made electric vehicle. But he assured Cabinet that he had taken âappropriate precautionsâ to protect sensitive information. Australiaâs cyber spy agency, the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), has published advice about the risks posed by connected