A defense minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible security risks posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been instructed to refrain from discussing secret information in any cars.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that MoD officials have been instructed not to discuss classified information while riding in China-made cars.
The minister stated that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but stressed that safety is a issue in all contemporary cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug MoD technology into their car, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any vehicle, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Security Background
The revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable China to switch off public transport and cause chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The wider defence situation highlights the significance of strong measures and vigilance in every aspects of government operations, including transport use to communication habits.
