An defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the possible security risks associated with Chinese cars, while personnel have been told to avoid talking about secret information in any cars.
Security Advice for MoD Staff
During a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss classified material while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however stressed that security is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a fleet of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a very small number.
However whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any kind of car, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, Pollard responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Background
This revelation comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly directing lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The wider security situation underscores the importance of robust measures and vigilance in every areas of official activities, including transport use to discussions practices.
