A defence minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the possible threats posed by Chinese vehicles, while staff have been advised to avoid discussing secret information in all cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister commented on claims that MoD officials have been told not to talk about secret information while travelling in China-made cars.
He said that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but stressed that security is a concern in all contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret classification in any kind of vehicle, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Background
The announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been shining laser beams at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This broader security situation highlights the significance of strong protocols and vigilance in every aspects of government activities, including vehicle usage to discussions practices.
