An defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently looking into the potential security risks posed by Chinese cars, while staff have been advised to refrain from talking about secret information in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about classified material while riding in China-made vehicles.
The minister explained that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a issue in every modern cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
But whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Security Context
The revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
This broader security situation underscores the importance of robust protocols and vigilance in all aspects of official activities, including transport usage to communication practices.
