An defense official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible security risks associated with Chinese-made cars, and staff have been told to avoid talking about secret matters in any cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss classified information while travelling in Chinese cars.
He stated that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however noted that security is a issue in all contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret classification in any vehicle, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Security Background
The announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to disable buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This broader security environment highlights the importance of strong protocols and caution in every areas of official activities, including transport usage to discussions practices.
