Government Official States Ministry of Defence Looking at Potential Threat from Vehicles from China, as Staff Instructed to Refrain from Confidential Discussions in Cars.
A defense official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible threats associated with Chinese-made cars, while staff have been instructed to avoid discussing classified matters in all cars.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
During a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about classified material while riding in China-made cars.
The minister stated that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however emphasised that security is a issue in all modern vehicles.
We have a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug MoD devices into their car, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any car, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
This revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The wider security environment highlights the importance of strong protocols and caution in every areas of official operations, from vehicle usage to discussions habits.
