Government Official Confirms Ministry of Defence Looking at Security Risk from Chinese Cars, with Staff Instructed to Refrain from Confidential Discussions in Vehicles.
A defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the potential threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been instructed to avoid discussing secret information in all cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
During a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss classified information while riding in China-made cars.
The minister stated that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but emphasised that security is a issue in every modern cars.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret level in any vehicle, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
The announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This wider defence situation highlights the significance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of government activities, including vehicle usage to communication practices.
