Minister States Ministry of Defence Looking at Security Risk from Chinese Cars, with Staff Told to Avoid Secret Talk in Vehicles.
An defense official has stated that the MoD is currently investigating the potential security risks posed by Chinese-made cars, and personnel have been advised to avoid talking about classified matters in all cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss secret information while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He said that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any car, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to only have those confidential talks in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
This announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
The broader security environment highlights the significance of robust protocols and caution in all areas of government activities, from transport use to discussions habits.
