An defence minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible security risks posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been told to refrain from discussing classified information in all vehicles.
Security Advice for MoD Personnel
During a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about secret information while riding in Chinese vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but stressed that safety is a issue in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified level in any car, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in protected areas. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Background
The revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been directing lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The wider security environment underscores the significance of robust measures and vigilance in every areas of government operations, from vehicle use to discussions habits.
