A defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible security risks posed by Chinese cars, while staff have been instructed to avoid discussing classified matters in any cars.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recent interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about secret material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
The minister said that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but stressed that security is a issue in all modern cars.
We have a fleet of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified classification in any car, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Security Context
This revelation comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This wider defence environment highlights the significance of robust measures and caution in all aspects of government activities, including transport use to discussions habits.
