A defense official has revealed that the MoD is actively looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been told to refrain from talking about classified matters in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
During a recent interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about classified information while riding in China-made vehicles.
The minister explained that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret classification in any vehicle, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in every single automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Background
This announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
This wider defence environment highlights the significance of robust measures and caution in every areas of government activities, including vehicle use to discussions habits.
