A defence minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the possible threats associated with Chinese-made cars, while personnel have been advised to avoid talking about secret information in any cars.
Security Advice for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD officials have been told not to discuss classified material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
He said that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but emphasised that security is a concern in all modern cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any vehicle, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Background
This revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been directing laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
This wider defence environment highlights the importance of strong measures and caution in every areas of government activities, including transport usage to communication habits.
