An defense minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible security risks posed by Chinese cars, while personnel have been told to avoid discussing secret information in all cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about classified information while riding in China-made cars.
The minister stated that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, but stressed that security is a issue in all modern vehicles.
We have a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a classified classification in any kind of vehicle, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, the minister replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
The announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow China to disable buses and cause disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been shining lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This broader defence environment underscores the importance of robust measures and vigilance in every aspects of government activities, including transport usage to communication practices.
