An defense official has stated that the MoD is actively looking into the possible threats posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been told to refrain from discussing classified matters in any cars.
Security Advice for MoD Staff
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about secret material while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however stressed that safety is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, not to have discussions at a secret level in any kind of car, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
This announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to disable buses and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been directing lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The wider defence environment underscores the importance of robust protocols and caution in all aspects of official activities, including transport use to communication habits.