A defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the potential security risks posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been instructed to refrain from talking about classified information in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD officials have been instructed not to discuss secret material while riding in China-made cars.
The minister stated that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that security is a concern in every modern cars.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any car, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Background
The revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The wider defence environment underscores the importance of strong protocols and vigilance in all aspects of government operations, including vehicle usage to discussions habits.
