Minister Says Ministry of Defence Examining Security Risk from Chinese Cars, with Personnel Advised to Refrain from Secret Talk in Cars.
A defence minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the potential threats associated with Chinese cars, and staff have been told to avoid discussing secret matters in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss classified material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
The minister said that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a issue in all contemporary vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug MoD technology into their car, not to have conversations at a classified classification in any kind of car, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
The revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The wider security situation highlights the importance of strong measures and vigilance in every areas of government operations, from vehicle use to communication habits.
