A defense official has stated that the MoD is currently investigating the potential threats posed by Chinese-made cars, and staff have been instructed to refrain from discussing secret information in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about secret material while riding in Chinese cars.
The minister said that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but stressed that safety is a issue in every modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their car, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any kind of car, due to the growing threats of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to restrict those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Security Background
This revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The wider security situation highlights the significance of robust protocols and vigilance in every areas of official operations, including vehicle usage to communication practices.
