Britain's farmers 'dangerously exposed' to Chinese hacking as Beijing uses tractors to spy on UK food security

Chinese-made chips have become standard in a range of agricultural machinery, the report warns, from GPS-guided tractors and farming drones to automated irrigation systems.

The analysis argues that state-linked groups could exploit these devices to monitor British farm output and gather sensitive intelligence on the country's food security, with roughly 70 per cent of cellular internet-of-things modules produced in China.

According to the report, such surveillance could enable Beijing to "identify pressure points within the UK's food production system", gathering data on crop yields, production forecasts and livestock populations.

The think tank also cautioned that weaknesses in connected farming technology could go beyond intelligence gathering, potentially allowing hostile actors to tamper with agricultural data, infiltrate broader farm IT networks or even remotely shut down equipment through a so-called "kill switch".

While farming has not traditionally been classified as critical national infrastructure alongside energy or telecommunications, the report stresses that growing digitisation has made food production systems strategically vital.

"Vulnerabilities in connected agricultural technologies could have widespread consequences for food security across the UK," the report stated.

British farmers are 'dangerously exposed' to Chinese hacking, a new report by a think tank has revealed

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These concerns sit within a wider pattern of security anxieties surrounding Chinese-made technology.

Internet modules fitted to Royal Navy drone boats were previously found to have attempted communication with a Chinese IP address, raising alarm about potential hacking vulnerabilities in military hardware.

Separately, fears that Chinese-built electric buses could be switched off remotely prompted investigations by the NCSC and Norwegian authorities.

Senior figures from MI5 and the NCSC have warned that foreign interference targeting operators of critical national infrastructure has become a daily occurrence.

The report found roughly 70 per cent of cellular internet-of-things modules are produced in China

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Official government estimates put the yearly cost of malicious cyber attack, including those attributed to groups with ties to China, Russia and Iran — at more than £14billion.

Mr Downie urged ministers to act swiftly, saying: "This report is a clear warning that the threat posed by Chinese-manufactured technology goes far beyond electric vehicles and the energy grid."

"We've already seen components secretly transmitting data back to China from Royal Navy equipment.

"The same structural vulnerability runs through the fields where our food grows," he added.

The Labour MP warned that farming ranks among the most digitised sectors in the British economy, yet "nobody in Whitehall has a clue how many connected systems are running on Chinese hardware.

"The Government must get ahead of this threat before it is too late.

"In an era when food security is increasingly crucial to national security, China's ambition to dominate the supply of cutting-edge agricultural technology cannot be ignored," he said.

The report recommends that ministers classify connected agricultural technology as an "emerging national resilience threat" and devise a plan to cut reliance on high-risk, foreign-controlled communications components.