A defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, while personnel have been instructed to avoid talking about classified matters in all vehicles.
Security Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss secret material while riding in China-made cars.
He explained that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but emphasised that security is a issue in all contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any car, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
The announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The wider security environment highlights the importance of robust protocols and vigilance in all aspects of official operations, including vehicle usage to communication habits.
