Government Official Confirms Ministry of Defence Investigating Security Risk from Vehicles from China, as Personnel Advised to Avoid Confidential Discussions in Vehicles.
A defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently examining the potential security risks posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been advised to refrain from discussing classified information in all cars.
Security Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, a defence minister commented on claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about secret information while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
The minister explained that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a issue in every modern cars.
We have a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any car, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Security Background
This announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to switch off public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been shining laser beams at RAF pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The wider security situation highlights the significance of strong measures and caution in every aspects of official operations, including vehicle use to communication practices.
