A defense official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, while staff have been told to refrain from discussing classified information in all cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss classified material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
He said that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a issue in all modern vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified classification in any car, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Security Background
This revelation comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to disable buses and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been shining lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This broader security situation underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in every aspects of government operations, including vehicle usage to discussions habits.
