A defense official has confirmed that the MoD is actively investigating the potential threats associated with Chinese vehicles, and personnel have been instructed to avoid talking about classified information in all vehicles.
Security Guidance for MoD Personnel
During a recent interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about secret material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
The minister stated that the ministry is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but stressed that safety is a issue in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any kind of car, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, Pollard responded: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
This announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could allow China to disable buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This broader defence environment underscores the significance of strong measures and caution in all aspects of official activities, including transport usage to discussions habits.
