A defense official has stated that the MoD is currently looking into the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been told to avoid discussing classified information in any vehicles.
Security Advice for MoD Staff
During a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to discuss classified information while riding in China-made cars.
The minister said that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that safety is a issue in every contemporary cars.
We have a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret classification in any kind of car, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to only have those confidential talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Security Context
The announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This broader security environment underscores the significance of strong measures and vigilance in every aspects of government activities, including transport usage to discussions habits.
