An defense official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been advised to refrain from talking about secret information in any vehicles.
Security Advice for MoD Staff
During a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about classified material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He said that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a concern in all modern cars.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any vehicle, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to only have those confidential talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
The announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This wider defence environment highlights the importance of strong protocols and caution in every areas of government operations, including transport usage to discussions habits.
