An defence official has confirmed that the MoD is currently investigating the possible threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been advised to refrain from talking about classified matters in all cars.
Security Advice for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss secret information while riding in China-made vehicles.
He stated that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, however emphasised that security is a concern in every modern cars.
We have a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
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 technology into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any vehicle, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, the minister responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Background
This revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This wider security situation underscores the importance of strong measures and vigilance in every aspects of government activities, including transport use to discussions practices.
