Government Official Says MoD Investigating Security Risk from Chinese Cars, as Personnel Told to Refrain from Confidential Discussions in Vehicles.
An defense minister has revealed that the MoD is actively looking into the potential security risks associated with Chinese cars, while staff have been advised to refrain from discussing secret matters in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recent interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD staff have been told not to discuss classified material while riding in China-made cars.
He explained that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, however noted that security is a issue in every modern cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug MoD technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret classification in any kind of car, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
This revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The wider defence environment highlights the significance of robust measures and vigilance in all aspects of official operations, including transport use to discussions habits.
