An defense minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the potential security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, and staff have been advised to refrain from talking about classified information in all vehicles.
Security Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss classified information while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its fleets, however stressed that safety is a issue in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a very small number.
But whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Background
The announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The wider defence situation highlights the significance of strong measures and vigilance in every areas of government activities, from vehicle usage to communication habits.
