An defence official has stated that the MoD is actively examining the potential threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been advised to avoid talking about classified information in all cars.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about classified information while travelling in China-made cars.
He said that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however noted that safety is a concern in every contemporary cars.
We have a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
This revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This wider security environment underscores the significance of strong measures and caution in all aspects of government activities, including vehicle usage to communication practices.
