An defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the possible security risks posed by Chinese-made cars, and staff have been told to refrain from talking about classified information in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
During a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD officials have been told not to discuss secret information while riding in Chinese cars.
He explained that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but noted that safety is a issue in all contemporary vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any vehicle, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single automobile, to only have those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
This revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to disable buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This wider defence situation highlights the importance of strong measures and vigilance in all aspects of government activities, including vehicle usage to communication habits.
