A defense minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently examining the potential threats posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been told to refrain from discussing secret matters in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD staff have been told not to discuss secret information while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
The minister said that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that safety is a concern in all contemporary cars.
We have a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their car, not to have discussions at a classified classification in any car, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to only have those confidential talks in protected areas. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
The announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The wider security situation highlights the significance of strong measures and vigilance in every aspects of government operations, including transport use to discussions habits.
