An defense official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made cars, and staff have been instructed to refrain from talking about secret matters in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss secret information while riding in China-made cars.
He said that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but emphasised that security is a issue in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their car, not to have discussions at a classified level in any car, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
The announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been directing laser beams at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This wider security situation highlights the significance of strong protocols and caution in all aspects of government operations, including vehicle use to communication habits.
