An defence official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made cars, while staff have been instructed to avoid talking about secret information in all vehicles.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
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 riding in China-made cars.
He explained that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a concern in every modern cars.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a classified classification in any car, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
This announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could allow China to disable buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The wider defence environment highlights the importance of robust protocols and vigilance in all aspects of official activities, including vehicle use to communication habits.
