Minister Says MoD Investigating Security Risk from Vehicles from China, as Personnel Told to Avoid Secret Talk in Vehicles.
An defense minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible threats posed by Chinese-made cars, while staff have been instructed to refrain from discussing classified information in any vehicles.
Security Guidance for MoD Personnel
During a recent interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about secret material while riding in China-made vehicles.
The minister stated that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a issue in all modern cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any vehicle, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single automobile, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
This announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to disable buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been directing laser beams at RAF pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The wider defence environment underscores the significance of strong protocols and caution in all aspects of government activities, including transport use to communication practices.
