Government Official Says MoD Looking at Security Risk from Vehicles from China, with Staff Instructed to Refrain from Secret Talk in Cars.
An defense official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible threats associated with Chinese cars, while staff have been instructed to refrain from talking about secret matters in any vehicles.
Security Guidance for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss secret material while travelling in China-made cars.
He explained that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, however noted that safety is a issue in all modern cars.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret level in any vehicle, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single automobile, to only have those confidential talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
The announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
This wider defence situation highlights the significance of robust measures and vigilance in every aspects of government activities, including vehicle use to discussions habits.
