Minister States MoD Investigating Potential Threat from Chinese Cars, with Personnel Advised to Refrain from Secret Talk in Cars.
An defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the possible security risks associated with Chinese-made cars, and staff have been told to refrain from talking about classified information in all vehicles.
Security Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about classified information while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
The minister explained that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its fleets, however noted that safety is a issue in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug MoD technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any car, because of the growing threats of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Security Background
The announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This wider defence environment underscores the importance of strong measures and vigilance in every areas of official operations, including transport use to discussions practices.
