An defence minister has stated that the MoD is actively looking into the potential threats associated with Chinese cars, and personnel have been told to refrain from talking about secret information in any vehicles.
Security Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD staff have been told not to discuss classified information while riding in Chinese cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a concern in all modern vehicles.
We have a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD technology into their car, not to have discussions at a classified level in any car, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential talks in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Security Background
The revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This wider defence environment underscores the importance of robust protocols and vigilance in all areas of official activities, including transport usage to discussions habits.
