A defense official has stated that the MoD is actively investigating the potential threats associated with Chinese cars, while staff have been told to avoid discussing secret matters in any vehicles.
Security Guidance for MoD Staff
During a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about secret material while riding in Chinese cars.
He said that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a issue in all modern cars.
Our department has a fleet of tens 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 Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have conversations at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single automobile, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, Pollard responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Context
This announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and cause chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
This wider defence situation highlights the importance of robust protocols and caution in every aspects of government activities, including transport usage to communication practices.
