An defense official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the possible threats associated with Chinese cars, and staff have been told to avoid talking about secret information in any cars.
Security Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD officials have been told not to talk about classified material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He explained that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however noted that security is a issue in every modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, not to have discussions at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing threats of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Background
This announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been shining laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This wider security situation highlights the importance of robust measures and vigilance in all areas of government activities, including transport use to communication practices.
