A defence minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the possible threats associated with Chinese cars, while personnel have been instructed to avoid discussing classified information in any vehicles.
Security Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss classified information while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any kind of car, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
The revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This broader security situation underscores the significance of robust measures and vigilance in all aspects of official activities, including vehicle usage to communication habits.
