An defence official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been told to avoid discussing secret information in all cars.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
During a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about secret information while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
He stated that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, but stressed that security is a concern in every contemporary cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any kind of car, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Security Background
The revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
The wider defence environment highlights the significance of strong protocols and vigilance in all areas of official activities, from transport use to communication practices.
