An defence official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese-made cars, and personnel have been told to avoid talking about secret information in all vehicles.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
In a recent appearance on a radio station, a defence minister commented on claims that MoD officials have been told not to talk about classified information while riding in China-made cars.
He explained that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however noted that safety is a issue in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing risks of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in protected areas. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
The revelation comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The wider defence environment highlights the significance of robust measures and caution in every areas of government activities, including transport use to communication habits.
