A defense official has revealed that the MoD is actively investigating the potential threats associated with Chinese cars, and staff have been instructed to refrain from talking about secret information in any cars.
Security Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recent appearance on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD officials have been told not to talk about secret material while riding in China-made vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety 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 tiny fraction.
However whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any car, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Security Context
The revelation comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
This wider defence situation highlights the significance of robust measures and caution in every aspects of government activities, including vehicle use to discussions habits.
