A defence minister has stated that the MoD is currently looking into the possible threats posed by Chinese cars, and personnel have been advised to avoid talking about classified information in any cars.
Security Guidance for MoD Personnel
During a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss secret material while riding in Chinese cars.
He stated that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a concern in every contemporary cars.
We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any kind of car, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, the minister responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
The revelation comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This broader security environment underscores the importance of strong measures and vigilance in every aspects of official activities, including vehicle usage to communication habits.
