A defence official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the potential security risks associated with Chinese cars, while staff have been instructed to refrain from discussing secret information in all cars.
Security Guidance for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss secret material while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a issue in every contemporary cars.
We have a collection of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any car, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Security Background
The revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable China to disable buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This broader defence environment underscores the significance of strong measures and vigilance in all areas of government operations, including vehicle use to discussions practices.
