A defense official has revealed that the MoD is actively looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese vehicles, while staff have been advised to refrain from discussing classified information in all cars.
Security Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about classified material while travelling in Chinese cars.
He explained that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but stressed that security is a concern in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
This announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence 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 spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This broader security situation underscores the importance of strong measures and caution in all areas of government activities, from transport usage to communication habits.
