A defence minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made cars, and personnel have been told to avoid talking about classified information in all cars.
Security Advice for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss classified information while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He said that the ministry is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but stressed that security is a issue in all contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a very small number.
However whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of car, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to only have those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for anyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
The revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This broader security situation underscores the importance of strong measures and vigilance in every areas of official operations, including vehicle use to communication practices.
