A defense minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese-made cars, and personnel have been told to avoid discussing classified matters in any cars.
Security Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss classified material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
The minister stated that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, however emphasised that safety is a issue in every modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any vehicle, due to the growing threats of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
The announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to switch off public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The wider security situation highlights the significance of robust measures and caution in every areas of official operations, from transport usage to discussions habits.
