An defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible security risks associated with Chinese cars, and staff have been advised to avoid talking about secret information in any cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
During a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD staff have been told not to discuss classified information while travelling in Chinese cars.
He said that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that security is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any vehicle, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
This announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This wider security situation underscores the significance of robust protocols and caution in every aspects of official activities, including vehicle use to communication habits.
