An defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible security risks associated with Chinese cars, while staff have been instructed to avoid discussing secret information in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss secret material while travelling in Chinese cars.
He explained that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, however stressed that security is a issue in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug MoD technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any car, because of the growing threats of surveillance that exist in every single automobile, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
The revelation comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This wider defence situation highlights the importance of strong protocols and vigilance in all areas of official operations, including vehicle use to communication practices.
