An defense official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made cars, while personnel have been instructed to avoid talking about secret information in all cars.
Security Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recent interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to discuss classified information while riding in Chinese cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but stressed that safety is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any kind of car, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Background
This revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This wider security situation underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in every areas of government activities, including transport use to discussions habits.
