An defence minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the possible threats posed by Chinese vehicles, and staff have been instructed to avoid talking about secret matters in any cars.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, a defence minister commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss secret material while riding in China-made cars.
He explained that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a concern in every contemporary cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any car, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
This announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been shining lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This broader defence environment underscores the significance of strong protocols and caution in all areas of official operations, from transport usage to discussions habits.
