A defense official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the potential security risks posed by Chinese-made cars, and personnel have been advised to refrain from talking about secret information in any cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about secret information while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a concern in every contemporary cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But 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 devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any car, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
This revelation comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could allow China to disable buses and cause chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This broader security situation underscores the importance of strong protocols and vigilance in all aspects of official activities, including transport use to communication habits.
