An defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the possible threats posed by Chinese-made cars, and personnel have been instructed to avoid talking about classified information in all vehicles.
Security Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about classified material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however noted that safety is a issue in every modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their car, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any kind of vehicle, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
The revelation comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This wider defence situation underscores the importance of robust measures and vigilance in every aspects of government activities, including transport use to discussions practices.
