A defense official has stated that the MoD is currently investigating the potential security risks associated with Chinese cars, while personnel have been advised to avoid discussing classified information in any cars.
Security Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about classified material while riding in China-made cars.
The minister stated that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a issue in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified classification in any kind of vehicle, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in every single automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, the minister replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
The revelation comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to switch off public transport and cause chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The wider security environment highlights the importance of robust measures and caution in every areas of government operations, including transport usage to discussions habits.
