An defense official has revealed that the MoD is currently examining the potential security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, and personnel have been instructed to refrain from discussing secret information in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
During a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about secret information while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister stated that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a issue in all modern cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret classification in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing threats of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Security Context
The revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to switch off public transport and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at RAF pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
The broader defence environment underscores the importance of robust measures and vigilance in all areas of government activities, including vehicle usage to discussions habits.
