An defense minister has revealed that the MoD is currently investigating the potential threats associated with Chinese-made cars, while personnel have been instructed to refrain from discussing classified information in any cars.
Security Advice for MoD Staff
During a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about classified material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He explained that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, however stressed that safety is a issue in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any kind of car, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, Pollard responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
The announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This broader defence environment underscores the significance of robust measures and caution in all areas of government activities, from transport use to communication habits.
