Government Official Confirms MoD Examining Security Risk from Chinese Cars, with Personnel Advised to Refrain from Secret Talk in Cars.
An defense official has confirmed that the MoD is actively looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been instructed to refrain from talking about secret information in any cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss classified material while riding in China-made cars.
He said that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, however stressed that security is a concern in every contemporary cars.
We have a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving 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 discussions at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for everyone worried about security.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
This announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at RAF pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The broader security environment highlights the significance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of official activities, including transport use to communication practices.