A defence official has confirmed that the MoD is actively examining the potential security risks posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while personnel have been told to avoid discussing secret information in any vehicles.
Security Advice for MoD Staff
During a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about classified information while travelling in Chinese cars.
He stated that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a concern in all contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles 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, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified classification in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
This revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
The broader defence situation highlights the importance of strong measures and caution in every areas of official activities, including vehicle use to communication practices.
