An defense minister has stated that the MoD is actively examining the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been advised to refrain from talking about classified information in all cars.
Security Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recent interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD staff have been told not to talk about classified material while travelling in China-made cars.
He stated that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a concern in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any kind of car, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
This revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The wider defence environment underscores the importance of strong measures and caution in every aspects of government activities, including transport usage to discussions habits.
