An defense official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the potential threats associated with Chinese cars, while staff have been instructed to refrain from talking about classified information in any vehicles.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to discuss classified material while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister explained that the ministry is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that safety is a issue in all contemporary vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
The announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and cause disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This broader defence environment highlights the significance of strong protocols and vigilance in every areas of government activities, including vehicle usage to communication practices.
