A defence minister has revealed that the MoD is currently examining the potential security risks posed by Chinese cars, while personnel have been told to avoid discussing secret information in all vehicles.
Security Guidance for MoD Staff
During a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD officials have been told not to discuss classified material while riding in China-made cars.
The minister said that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but noted that safety is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a very small number.
But whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret classification in any vehicle, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone worried about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, Pollard responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
This revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This broader security environment underscores the significance of strong measures and caution in all areas of government activities, including transport usage to discussions habits.
