An defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the potential threats associated with Chinese cars, and staff have been told to refrain from talking about secret matters in all cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about classified information while riding in China-made cars.
He stated that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a concern in every modern cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single automobile, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
This revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could allow China to disable buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This broader defence situation underscores the significance of robust measures and caution in all areas of official activities, including vehicle use to discussions habits.
