An defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible security risks posed by Chinese-made cars, and personnel have been told to refrain from talking about secret information in any vehicles.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
In a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about secret information while travelling in China-made cars.
He said that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but stressed that security is a concern in all contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified level in any vehicle, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in every single automobile, to only have those confidential talks in protected areas. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Security Background
The revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This wider security environment highlights the significance of robust measures and vigilance in every aspects of official activities, including vehicle usage to communication habits.
