An defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently investigating the possible security risks posed by Chinese-made cars, and personnel have been advised to avoid discussing secret information in any vehicles.
Security Advice for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss secret information while riding in China-made vehicles.
He stated that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but noted that security is a issue in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any vehicle, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Security Background
The announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to disable buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This broader security environment underscores the significance of robust measures and vigilance in all areas of government operations, including transport usage to discussions practices.
