Government Official States MoD Examining Security Risk from Vehicles from China, with Personnel Advised to Avoid Secret Talk in Cars.
A defence minister has revealed that the MoD is currently examining the possible threats associated with Chinese cars, and staff have been told to avoid talking about classified information in all cars.
Security Advice for MoD Staff
In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about classified information while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
He explained that the ministry is âinvestigatingâ Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but stressed that security is a concern in all modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However regardless of if youâre traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, not to have conversations at a secret level in any kind of car, due to the growing risks of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. Thatâs a prudent and sensible thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, the minister replied: âThatâs exactly what weâre investigating at the moment.â
Broader Security Context
This revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a âextremely riskyâ action by defence officials.
The wider security situation underscores the importance of robust measures and vigilance in all aspects of government activities, including vehicle use to communication habits.
