An defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently investigating the possible security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, while personnel have been advised to refrain from discussing secret information in all cars.
Security Advice for MoD Staff
During a recent interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that MoD staff have been told not to talk about secret material while riding in China-made cars.
The minister explained that the ministry is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified classification in any kind of car, because of the growing threats of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
This announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This wider security situation highlights the importance of robust measures and caution in every aspects of government operations, including transport usage to communication practices.
