A defence official has stated that the MoD is actively looking into the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been instructed to avoid discussing secret information in any cars.
Security Advice for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD officials have been told not to discuss classified information while riding in Chinese vehicles.
The minister said that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but stressed that security is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any car, because of the growing threats of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
This announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The broader defence environment highlights the significance of robust measures and caution in every aspects of government operations, including transport use to communication habits.
