UK Royal Navy drone cameras secretly transmitted data to Chinese IP address: Telegraph

Published Aug 10, 08:36 AM UTC

An investigation by The Telegraph revealed that cameras mounted on Royal Navy Kraken K3 Scout surveillance drones, used by special forces including the Special Boat Service, were secretly transmitting 'heartbeat' signals to an IP address in China. The Ministry of Defence discovered the issue during a routine cyber vulnerability assessment of the $16.2 million fleet, which entered service with the Royal Marines in March 2026. The affected drones were earmarked for a planned deployment to the Strait of Hormuz to protect commercial shipping. The MoD stated that no sensitive information was compromised and removed internet connectivity from the cameras as a precaution. Kraken Technology Group, the drone manufacturer, said it had received assurances about the cameras' security before integration and that vulnerabilities have been closed. The camera manufacturer or supplier has not been publicly identified, and a separate unverified claim linking the cameras to Canadian firm Current Scientific Corporation was disputed by that company.