A defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently investigating the potential threats associated with Chinese cars, while staff have been told to refrain from discussing secret matters in all cars.
Security Advice for MoD Staff
In a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss secret information while riding in Chinese cars.
He said that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however noted that security is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single automobile, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
This announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The wider defence environment underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in every aspects of official activities, including transport usage to communication practices.
