A defense minister has confirmed that the MoD is actively examining the possible security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, while staff have been told to avoid talking about secret information in all cars.
Security Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recent interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about classified information while riding in China-made cars.
The minister explained that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that safety is a concern in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any kind of car, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
This announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The wider defence environment highlights the importance of robust measures and vigilance in every areas of government activities, from transport use to discussions habits.
