A defence minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the potential threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been advised to refrain from discussing classified matters in all cars.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
In a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD staff have been told not to talk about secret information while travelling in Chinese cars.
He said that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but noted that safety is a issue in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
This announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This wider defence environment underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in all aspects of official operations, including transport use to communication practices.
