An defense official has revealed that the MoD is actively investigating the possible threats posed by Chinese cars, while personnel have been told to avoid talking about classified information in any vehicles.
Security Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss secret information while travelling in Chinese cars.
He explained that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however noted that security is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, not to have conversations at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in protected areas. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Background
The announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The wider security situation underscores the importance of robust measures and vigilance in every aspects of official operations, including transport use to discussions habits.
