An defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently examining the possible threats posed by Chinese cars, while personnel have been told to avoid talking about classified matters in all cars.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about classified information while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a concern in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any car, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Background
This revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This broader security environment highlights the importance of robust protocols and vigilance in every aspects of official operations, including vehicle use to communication practices.
