An defense minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the potential security risks posed by Chinese-made cars, and personnel have been instructed to avoid talking about classified matters in any cars.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
During a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss secret material while riding in China-made cars.
He said that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a issue in all modern cars.
We have a fleet of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any car, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Background
The revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and cause disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This wider security situation underscores the significance of strong measures and vigilance in every aspects of official operations, including vehicle use to communication habits.
