An defense minister has revealed that the MoD is actively looking into the possible security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, and staff have been instructed to refrain from talking about secret information in all cars.
Security Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, a defence minister commented on reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss secret material while riding in Chinese cars.
He said that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a concern in every contemporary cars.
We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any car, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
The announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This wider security environment underscores the importance of robust measures and vigilance in every areas of official operations, including transport usage to communication habits.
