Government Official Confirms Ministry of Defence Examining Security Risk from Chinese Cars, as Staff Advised to Avoid Secret Talk in Vehicles.
An defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is actively looking into the possible threats associated with Chinese vehicles, and personnel have been instructed to avoid talking about classified matters in all cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
In a recent appearance on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about classified information while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
He explained that the ministry is “examining” cars from China within its fleets, but stressed that security is a issue in all contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a classified classification in any vehicle, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
The announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The wider defence situation highlights the significance of robust measures and caution in every aspects of government activities, including vehicle usage to discussions practices.
