Minister States Ministry of Defence Looking at Security Risk from Vehicles from China, as Staff Advised to Avoid Confidential Discussions in Vehicles.

An defence minister has revealed that the MoD is currently investigating the possible threats associated with Chinese cars, while personnel have been told to avoid discussing secret information in all cars.

Security Guidance for MoD Staff

During a recently aired appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about secret information while travelling in Chinese cars.

He stated that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a issue in all contemporary cars.

Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.

However whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified classification in any kind of car, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.

When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”

Wider Defence Background

The revelation comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.

Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.

The wider security environment highlights the significance of robust measures and caution in every aspects of government operations, including vehicle use to discussions practices.