A defense minister has revealed that the MoD is currently investigating the potential security risks posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been instructed to refrain from discussing classified matters in any cars.
Security Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about secret information while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
The minister said that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any car, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Security Context
This revelation comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
This broader security environment underscores the importance of strong protocols and vigilance in every areas of government operations, including vehicle usage to communication habits.
