A defence official has stated that the MoD is currently examining the possible threats associated with Chinese-made cars, and staff have been told to avoid discussing classified information in all cars.
Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel
In a recent interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss secret material while travelling in China-made cars.
He explained that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a issue in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
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 exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
The revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The wider security environment underscores the significance of robust measures and caution in all areas of government operations, including vehicle usage to communication habits.
