A defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese cars, while staff have been advised to avoid discussing classified matters in all cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
During a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to discuss classified material while riding in Chinese vehicles.
He stated that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but noted that security is a concern in all modern cars.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any vehicle, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to restrict those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, the minister replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Security Background
This revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The wider security environment underscores the significance of robust protocols and caution in all aspects of official activities, including vehicle usage to discussions practices.
