A defense official has stated that the MoD is actively looking into the possible security risks associated with Chinese-made cars, and personnel have been instructed to refrain from talking about classified information in all cars.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD officials have been instructed not to discuss secret information while riding in China-made vehicles.
The minister explained that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but stressed that security is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles account for a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of car, because of the growing risks of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
This announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The wider security environment underscores the importance of robust protocols and vigilance in every aspects of government operations, including vehicle use to communication habits.
