A defence official has revealed that the MoD is actively examining the potential threats associated with Chinese vehicles, and staff have been advised to refrain from talking about classified information in any cars.
Security Advice for MoD Staff
In a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD staff have been told not to discuss classified material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
The minister stated that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but stressed that security is a issue in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However 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 kind of vehicle, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
This announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This wider security situation underscores the significance of robust measures and caution in all areas of official operations, including vehicle use to discussions practices.
