Minister States Ministry of Defence Looking at Potential Threat from Vehicles from China, as Staff Told to Avoid Secret Talk in Vehicles.
A defense official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the possible threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been advised to refrain from talking about classified information in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recent interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD staff have been told not to discuss secret information while riding in Chinese cars.
The minister stated that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that security is a concern in all modern vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, Pollard responded: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
The revelation comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The wider defence environment underscores the significance of strong protocols and caution in every aspects of government operations, including vehicle usage to discussions habits.
