An defense official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the potential security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, while staff have been advised to avoid discussing classified matters in any cars.
Security Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recent appearance on a radio station, a defence minister commented on reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about secret information while travelling in China-made cars.
He stated that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a issue in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any vehicle, due to the growing risks of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. 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 all cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
This announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have warned 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 public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This broader defence environment highlights the significance of robust measures and caution in every areas of official activities, including vehicle usage to communication habits.
