An defence official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the possible threats posed by Chinese cars, while staff have been told to refrain from talking about secret matters in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss classified information while riding in Chinese cars.
He explained that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, but stressed that security is a issue in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any vehicle, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, the minister replied: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Context
This announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to disable buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This wider security environment underscores the significance of strong measures and caution in every areas of government activities, including transport usage to discussions habits.
