Government Official Confirms MoD Examining Security Risk from Vehicles from China, as Staff Told to Avoid Confidential Discussions in Cars.

An defence minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the possible threats associated with Chinese-made cars, while staff have been told to refrain from discussing classified information in any cars.

Security Advice for MoD Personnel

During a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about classified information while riding in China-made vehicles.

The minister explained that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a concern in every contemporary cars.

Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.

But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug MoD technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified classification in any kind of car, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.

After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”

Wider Security Context

This announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring chaos to transport systems.

Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.

The wider security environment highlights the significance of strong measures and caution in every aspects of government operations, from transport use to communication practices.