An defence minister has revealed that the MoD is actively looking into the potential security risks posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been advised to avoid talking about secret information in all cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD staff have been told not to talk about classified material while riding in Chinese vehicles.
He stated that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but noted that safety is a issue in every contemporary cars.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re driving a vehicle from China 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 level in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
This revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
The broader defence situation highlights the significance of robust protocols and caution in all aspects of government operations, including transport use to communication practices.
