(Yicai) Aug. 15 -- Tesla has a data center in China that stores all auto data in the country, the US electric car maker said in response to news that an airport in central Hunan province is denying entry to the firm's vehicles over fears that the cameras on the cars could be recording and leaking security information when in Sentry Mode.

All data generated by vehicles sold on the Chinese mainland is stored in the country, the California-based firm said yesterday on its microblogging Weibo account. Tesla was one of the first companies to take part in a pilot on compliance to automobile data security by regulators, it added.

The Yueyang Sanhe Airport recently banned Tesla EVs from using its parking lots due to concerns that sensitive information was being collected and leaked through the cars’ cameras when in Sentry Mode, an airport employee said.

Tesla’s Sentry Mode, also known as Guard Mode, sends an alarm to owners if it detects any suspicious activities, which could include attempts to damage or steal the car. Video clips are recorded on a USB drive in the vehicle, but these videos cannot be viewed remotely by either the owners or Tesla, the carmaker said.

The Sentry Mode, which has to be activated manually, uses four cameras on the vehicle and sounds different alarms depending on the threat it detects, the Shanghai Observer reported. The function will save any video clips taken 10 minutes before the alarm is triggered on the USB drive. In cars with the latest version, any clips less than five gigabytes will be saved on the drives and older data deleted.

China issued new regulations in August 2021 to reduce the disorderly collection and illegal abuse of vehicle data and prevent auto data security risks. It requires data processors to abide by the regulations on storage within the country, strengthen the security protection of important data, and actively prevent data security risks.

Editor: Kim Taylor