A defense official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the potential security risks associated with Chinese cars, while staff have been told to refrain from discussing secret information in any vehicles.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about classified information while travelling in China-made cars.
He said that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however stressed that security is a issue in every contemporary cars.
We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, not to have conversations at a classified classification in any vehicle, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, the minister replied: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
The revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This broader security environment underscores the significance of robust measures and caution in every areas of government activities, including vehicle use to communication habits.
