An defense minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible security risks posed by Chinese cars, while personnel have been advised to avoid talking about secret information in any vehicles.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD staff have been told not to discuss classified information while travelling in Chinese cars.
He explained that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however stressed that security is a issue in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug MoD devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential talks in secure locations. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone worried about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Security Context
This announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This wider defence environment underscores the importance of strong measures and caution in every aspects of official activities, including vehicle use to communication practices.
