Minister Says MoD Looking at Security Risk from Vehicles from China, as Personnel Instructed to Refrain from Secret Talk in Vehicles.
An defense minister has revealed that the MoD is actively examining the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made cars, and staff have been advised to avoid talking about secret information in all cars.
Security Guidance for MoD Staff
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss classified material while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister stated that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, but noted that safety is a issue in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified classification in any car, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, the minister responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
This revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The wider defence situation highlights the importance of strong measures and vigilance in every areas of government operations, from vehicle usage to communication habits.
