Minister States Ministry of Defence Examining Potential Threat from Chinese Cars, as Staff Told to Avoid Secret Talk in Cars.
A defence minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the potential security risks posed by Chinese cars, and personnel have been advised to avoid talking about classified matters in all cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about classified information while riding in Chinese cars.
He said that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but emphasised that security is a issue in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone worried about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
This announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The wider security situation underscores the significance of robust protocols and caution in every aspects of official activities, including transport use to communication practices.
