A defense official has revealed that the MoD is currently investigating the possible security risks posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been told to refrain from discussing secret matters in all cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
In a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about classified information while riding in China-made vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a issue in every modern cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any kind of vehicle, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
This revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
The broader defence environment highlights the significance of strong protocols and vigilance in every areas of government activities, including vehicle usage to communication habits.
