Government Official Confirms Ministry of Defence Looking at Potential Threat from Chinese Cars, with Staff Told to Avoid Confidential Discussions in Cars.
An defense minister has stated that the MoD is actively investigating the possible security risks associated with Chinese-made cars, while personnel have been told to refrain from discussing classified information in any cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss secret information while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
He stated that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however emphasised that security is a concern in every modern vehicles.
We have a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, not to have discussions at a classified level in any kind of car, due to the growing threats of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Background
This announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been directing laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This wider security environment highlights the significance of robust measures and caution in all areas of government operations, from vehicle use to discussions practices.
