A defense official has revealed that the MoD is currently examining the potential security risks posed by Chinese-made cars, while staff have been instructed to avoid talking about classified information in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to discuss classified information while riding in Chinese vehicles.
He explained that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but stressed that security is a concern in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any car, because of the growing threats of surveillance that exist in every single automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
This announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to switch off public transport and cause chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This broader defence situation highlights the significance of strong measures and vigilance in all areas of government activities, including transport use to discussions habits.
