A defense official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been instructed to avoid discussing secret matters in all cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD officials have been told not to talk about secret information while riding in Chinese cars.
He said that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a issue in every modern vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have discussions at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Security Background
The revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been directing lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The wider defence situation highlights the importance of strong measures and vigilance in every aspects of official operations, from vehicle use to discussions habits.
