An defence official has revealed that the MoD is currently looking into the possible security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, while staff have been told to refrain from discussing secret information in any cars.
Security Advice for MoD Staff
In a recent interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about classified information while riding in Chinese cars.
He stated that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a concern in all contemporary cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any vehicle, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
The revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
This broader security situation underscores the importance of robust measures and vigilance in all areas of government activities, including transport usage to communication habits.
