An defense official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the potential threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been instructed to refrain from discussing secret information in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
During a recent interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about secret information while travelling in China-made vehicles.
The minister said that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but noted that security is a issue in all contemporary cars.
We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any car, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single automobile, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Background
This announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This broader security situation highlights the importance of strong protocols and caution in all aspects of government operations, including vehicle use to communication habits.
