An defense minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the potential threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been told to avoid talking about secret information in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss classified material while travelling in Chinese cars.
He said that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but stressed that safety is a concern in every modern cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of car, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, the minister replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Background
The revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This wider security environment highlights the importance of strong protocols and vigilance in every areas of official operations, including vehicle usage to communication practices.
