An defence minister has revealed that the MoD is currently examining the possible security risks associated with Chinese cars, and staff have been told to avoid discussing secret matters in all cars.
Security Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recent interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about secret material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
He explained that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, however stressed that security is a issue in all contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any car, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Background
This revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and cause chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been directing lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The wider defence situation underscores the importance of robust measures and vigilance in all aspects of government operations, including transport usage to discussions practices.
