Government Official States Ministry of Defence Examining Potential Threat from Chinese Cars, as Personnel Told to Avoid Confidential Discussions in Cars.
An defence minister has revealed that the MoD is actively examining the potential threats posed by Chinese cars, and personnel have been advised to refrain from talking about secret information in any cars.
Security Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about classified information while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister explained that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however stressed that security is a concern in all contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
This announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable China to switch off public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The broader security situation highlights the importance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of official activities, including vehicle usage to discussions habits.
