An defence minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible threats posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been advised to avoid discussing secret information in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about classified material while travelling in China-made cars.
He stated that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but stressed that security is a issue in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
But whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, the minister responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Security Context
The revelation comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow China to switch off public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This wider security environment highlights the importance of strong protocols and caution in every aspects of government operations, including transport usage to communication habits.
