Minister States MoD Examining Security Risk from Vehicles from China, with Staff Instructed to Avoid Confidential Discussions in Vehicles.
A defense official has revealed that the MoD is actively investigating the potential security risks posed by Chinese-made cars, while staff have been told to avoid talking about secret information in all cars.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
During a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to discuss classified material while riding in Chinese vehicles.
He explained that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a issue in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing risks of surveillance that exist in every single automobile, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
This announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to switch off public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This broader security situation underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in all areas of government operations, from vehicle usage to discussions habits.