An defense official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible security risks associated with Chinese-made cars, and staff have been instructed to avoid discussing classified matters in any cars.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
During a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss classified information while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister explained that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however emphasised that security is a concern in every modern vehicles.
We have a collection of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Background
The revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This broader security environment underscores the importance of strong measures and caution in every aspects of government operations, including transport use to communication habits.
