A defense official has stated that the MoD is currently looking into the possible threats posed by Chinese cars, while personnel have been instructed to refrain from talking about classified information in any cars.
Security Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss secret information while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He stated that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a issue in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a classified classification in any kind of car, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
This revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow China to disable buses and cause disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The wider defence situation underscores the significance of robust protocols and caution in all aspects of official operations, including vehicle usage to communication practices.
