An defence minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the possible security risks posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while personnel have been told to refrain from talking about classified matters in all vehicles.
Security Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about secret information while riding in China-made cars.
He explained that the ministry is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but stressed that security is a concern in all contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified classification in any kind of car, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in every single automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, Pollard responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
The revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
The wider defence situation highlights the significance of robust measures and vigilance in all areas of government operations, including vehicle usage to discussions habits.
