A defense minister has revealed that the MoD is currently looking into the potential security risks posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been instructed to refrain from discussing secret information in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to discuss classified information while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
He said that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, the minister responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
This announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and bring chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
The broader defence environment underscores the significance of strong protocols and vigilance in all aspects of official activities, including vehicle use to discussions practices.
