A defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently looking into the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been told to avoid talking about secret information in any vehicles.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
In a recent interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss classified material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
He explained that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that security is a issue in every modern cars.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
This announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This wider defence situation underscores the significance of strong measures and caution in all aspects of official activities, from vehicle use to communication habits.
