A defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the potential threats posed by Chinese-made cars, while staff have been told to refrain from talking about classified information in any cars.
Security Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about classified information while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister explained that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but stressed that security is a concern in all contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any car, because of the growing risks of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Background
This announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This wider security environment highlights the importance of strong protocols and caution in all areas of government operations, from vehicle usage to communication habits.
