Government Official Confirms MoD Looking at Potential Threat from Chinese Cars, with Personnel Instructed to Avoid Secret Talk in Cars.
A defense official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the potential threats associated with Chinese-made cars, while staff have been told to avoid talking about secret information in any vehicles.
Security Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to discuss secret information while riding in China-made vehicles.
The minister explained that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, however emphasised that safety is a issue in every contemporary cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any vehicle, due to the growing risks of surveillance that exist in every single automobile, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Security Background
This announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The wider security environment underscores the significance of strong measures and vigilance in every aspects of government activities, including vehicle usage to discussions habits.
