An defense official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while personnel have been told to refrain from discussing classified matters in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about secret information while travelling in China-made cars.
He explained that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a issue in all modern cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a classified classification in any vehicle, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, the minister replied: That is precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
The revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and cause chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at RAF pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The wider defence environment underscores the significance of strong measures and caution in all areas of government activities, including vehicle use to communication practices.
