A defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible security risks posed by Chinese cars, while staff have been advised to avoid discussing secret information in any cars.
Security Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about classified information while riding in China-made cars.
He said that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however stressed that security is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any vehicle, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single automobile, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, the minister responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
The revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
This broader security situation highlights the importance of robust protocols and vigilance in every areas of government activities, including transport use to communication practices.
