An defence minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the possible threats posed by Chinese vehicles, and personnel have been told to refrain from discussing classified information in all vehicles.
Security Advice for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about secret information while travelling in China-made cars.
He said that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but emphasised that safety is a issue in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD technology into their car, not to have conversations at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
This revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been directing lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The broader defence situation highlights the importance of robust measures and vigilance in all aspects of official activities, including transport use to discussions practices.
