An defense minister has revealed that the MoD is currently looking into the possible threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been instructed to refrain from discussing classified information in all cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
During a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister commented on claims that MoD staff have been told not to talk about secret information while riding in Chinese cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that safety is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their car, not to have conversations at a classified classification in any kind of car, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, Pollard responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
This revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This broader security situation underscores the importance of strong measures and caution in all areas of government activities, from transport use to communication habits.
