A defense official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the possible security risks posed by Chinese vehicles, while staff have been instructed to refrain from discussing secret information in any cars.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss secret material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
The minister said that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however noted that safety is a concern in all modern cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD technology into their car, not to have conversations at a classified level in any kind of car, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
The announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been shining lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This wider defence environment highlights the importance of strong measures and caution in all areas of official activities, from transport use to communication habits.
