A defence minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the possible security risks associated with Chinese cars, while personnel have been advised to refrain from talking about secret matters in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
In a recent interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD staff have been told not to talk about classified material while riding in China-made cars.
He said that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however noted that security is a issue in all contemporary vehicles.
We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have conversations at a classified classification in any vehicle, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Security Background
This revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to disable buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This wider security environment underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in every areas of government operations, including vehicle use to communication habits.
