An defence minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the potential threats associated with Chinese vehicles, while personnel have been advised to avoid talking about secret matters in any cars.
Security Advice for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that MoD officials have been told not to talk about secret material while riding in China-made vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but stressed that security is a issue in every modern cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret classification in any vehicle, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Background
The announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and cause chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The wider security environment highlights the importance of strong protocols and vigilance in every aspects of government operations, including transport usage to communication habits.
