A defense minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the possible threats associated with Chinese vehicles, and staff have been advised to refrain from discussing classified matters in any vehicles.
Security Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recent appearance on a radio station, a defence minister commented on reports that MoD officials have been told not to discuss classified material while riding in China-made cars.
He explained that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but stressed that security is a issue in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any vehicle, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
The revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable China to disable buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This broader security environment highlights the importance of strong measures and caution in all aspects of official operations, from vehicle use to communication habits.
