A defense minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible security risks posed by Chinese cars, and personnel have been told to avoid talking about classified matters in all cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
During a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about classified material while riding in China-made vehicles.
The minister explained that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but stressed that security is a concern in all modern cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret level in any car, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
This announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The broader security situation highlights the significance of robust measures and caution in every aspects of government activities, from transport use to discussions practices.
