Government Official Says MoD Examining Security Risk from Vehicles from China, with Personnel Advised to Avoid Secret Talk in Cars.
An defense official has confirmed that the MoD is currently examining the potential threats associated with Chinese-made cars, and staff have been instructed to refrain from discussing secret information in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
In a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD officials have been told not to talk about classified material while riding in China-made vehicles.
The minister said that the ministry is “examining” cars from China 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 tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret level in any vehicle, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single automobile, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
The revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The wider security environment underscores the importance of strong measures and vigilance in every areas of official activities, including transport usage to communication practices.
