An defence official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible threats associated with Chinese-made cars, while staff have been told to refrain from discussing classified matters in all vehicles.
Security Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about classified information while travelling in China-made vehicles.
The minister stated that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, however noted that security is a issue in every contemporary cars.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, not to have discussions at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Security Background
This announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
The wider defence situation highlights the significance of robust measures and caution in every areas of official activities, including transport use to discussions habits.
