A defence official has confirmed that the MoD is currently examining the potential threats posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been told to avoid discussing secret information in any vehicles.
Security Guidance for MoD Staff
During a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD staff have been told not to talk about classified material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
The minister stated that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but noted that security is a concern in every modern cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones 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 MoD technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any vehicle, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
The announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
This broader defence environment highlights the significance of robust measures and vigilance in all aspects of official operations, including transport usage to discussions habits.
