A defense official has confirmed that the MoD is actively looking into the potential security risks associated with Chinese cars, and personnel have been told to refrain from talking about secret matters in any cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
In a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about classified material while riding in China-made cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any kind of car, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, the minister replied: That is precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
This revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
The broader security environment highlights the importance of robust measures and caution in all aspects of official activities, including vehicle use to communication practices.
