A defence official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the potential threats associated with Chinese cars, while staff have been told to avoid talking about classified information in any cars.
Security Guidance for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about classified material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
He said that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however stressed that security is a issue in all modern cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
But whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any vehicle, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, the minister replied: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Context
The revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The wider defence environment highlights the significance of robust protocols and vigilance in every areas of government operations, from transport usage to discussions practices.
