Government Official Says Ministry of Defence Examining Security Risk from Vehicles from China, with Staff Instructed to Refrain from Secret Talk in Vehicles.
A defense official has confirmed that the MoD is currently investigating the potential threats associated with Chinese vehicles, while staff have been advised to refrain from discussing secret information in any cars.
Security Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recent interview on a radio station, a defence minister commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss secret information while riding in Chinese cars.
The minister explained that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, however stressed that security is a issue in all contemporary vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret classification in any kind of car, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
The revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable China to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel has been directing lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The wider defence environment highlights the importance of robust measures and vigilance in every aspects of official activities, including vehicle use to communication habits.
