A defense minister has stated that the MoD is currently examining the potential threats posed by Chinese vehicles, while staff have been instructed to avoid talking about classified information in all vehicles.
Security Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, a defence minister commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about classified material while travelling in China-made cars.
He said that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but emphasised that security is a issue in every modern cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of car, because of the growing threats of surveillance that exist in every single automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Background
The announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
This broader security situation highlights the importance of robust measures and caution in every areas of government activities, from transport usage to communication habits.
