Minister States MoD Investigating Security Risk from Vehicles from China, with Personnel Told to Avoid Secret Talk in Vehicles.
An defence minister has stated that the MoD is currently examining the possible security risks posed by Chinese vehicles, and staff have been instructed to avoid talking about secret information in all cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
In a recent interview on a radio station, a defence minister commented on reports that MoD staff have been told not to discuss classified material while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister stated that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however noted that security is a concern in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD technology into their car, not to have discussions at a classified classification in any kind of car, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
This revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and cause chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This wider security environment underscores the significance of robust measures and caution in all aspects of official activities, from transport usage to discussions habits.
