A defense minister has stated that the MoD is actively looking into the possible threats posed by Chinese-made cars, and staff have been told to refrain from talking about secret information in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
During a recent appearance on a radio station, a defence minister commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss secret information while travelling in China-made cars.
He stated that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a issue in all contemporary vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any kind of car, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
The revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been shining lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This wider defence environment underscores the significance of robust protocols and vigilance in every aspects of government activities, including vehicle usage to discussions practices.
