An defense official has revealed that the MoD is actively looking into the possible security risks associated with Chinese cars, and personnel have been told to refrain from talking about secret information in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss secret material while riding in China-made vehicles.
He said that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, however noted that security is a concern in all contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD technology into their car, not to have discussions at a classified classification in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing threats of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Security Background
The announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
The wider security environment highlights the importance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of government operations, including vehicle usage to discussions habits.
