An defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the potential threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been told to refrain from talking about secret information in any cars.
Security Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about secret material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
The minister said that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however noted that safety is a concern in every modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret classification in any car, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single automobile, to only have those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, the minister replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
The announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and cause chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The wider defence environment highlights the significance of robust protocols and caution in all areas of government activities, including vehicle usage to communication practices.
