An defense official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the potential security risks posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been instructed to avoid talking about classified information in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
During a recent appearance on a radio station, a defence minister commented on reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss secret information while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, but noted that security is a issue in every modern cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any vehicle, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single automobile, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
This announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been shining lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
This broader defence situation underscores the importance of robust measures and vigilance in every aspects of official activities, including transport usage to communication practices.
