An defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the potential threats posed by Chinese cars, while staff have been told to refrain from talking about secret information in all vehicles.
Security Advice for MoD Staff
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about classified information while riding in China-made vehicles.
The minister stated that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a concern in every modern cars.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a classified level in any kind of car, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
This revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This broader security situation highlights the significance of strong measures and vigilance in every areas of official activities, including vehicle usage to communication habits.
