A defense official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the possible threats posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been advised to refrain from talking about classified information in any vehicles.
Security Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about secret information while riding in Chinese cars.
The minister explained that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however noted that security is a concern in every modern vehicles.
We have a collection of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in every single automobile, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, the minister responded: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
This announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This wider security environment underscores the importance of strong protocols and caution in every aspects of official operations, from vehicle usage to communication habits.
