A defence official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible threats posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been instructed to avoid discussing secret information in all cars.
Security Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD officials have been told not to talk about classified material while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, however noted that safety is a concern in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their car, not to have discussions at a classified level in any vehicle, due to the growing risks of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
This announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been directing lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The wider defence situation underscores the importance of robust measures and vigilance in all aspects of government operations, including vehicle usage to communication practices.
