A defense minister has revealed that the MoD is actively examining the potential security risks posed by Chinese-made cars, while staff have been instructed to avoid talking about classified matters in any vehicles.
Security Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recent interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about classified information while riding in Chinese vehicles.
The minister said that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however stressed that security is a issue in every modern cars.
We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing threats of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
This announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow China to switch off public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The broader defence situation highlights the significance of strong measures and vigilance in every areas of government activities, including vehicle usage to discussions practices.
