A defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the potential security risks posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been advised to avoid talking about secret information in all cars.
Security Advice for MoD Personnel
During a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss classified material while riding in Chinese vehicles.
He explained that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a concern in every contemporary cars.
We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any vehicle, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Security Context
The announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The wider defence environment underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in all aspects of government activities, including transport use to communication habits.
