Retired senior military officers could see their access to ministers and officials "shut down" if the system is found to have been abused, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has said.
His comments come after several retired military leaders were secretly filmed by the Sunday Times offering to influence MPs on behalf of arms firms.
But Mr Hammond said he was satisfied that the current system was "robust".
The paper said all the officers involved have denied any wrongdoing.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said it was investigating whether it was possible for anyone to secure "privileged access" and whether any rules had been broken.
On standing down, former members of the MoD have to serve a two-year period of "purdah" - when they are not allowed to work in the private sector.
'Ignore it'
Reporters for the newspaper posed as lobbyists for a defence manufacturer and approached several senior retired officers to ask if they would help them secure contracts.
They alleged that two retired officers - former Defence Academy head Lt Gen Sir John Kiszely and ex-MoD procurement chief Lt Gen Richard Applegate - admitted they had lobbied on multi-million pound deals while they were in purdah.
- Lord Dannatt (top left) Lord Dannatt served as chief of the general staff - the highest position in the Army - from 2006 to 2009. He received his peerage last year.
- Lt Gen Sir John Kiszely (top right) was director of the Defence Academy from 2005 to 2008. He has been president of the Royal British Legion since 2009.
- Lt Gen Richard Applegate (bottom right) was MoD procurement chief from 2007 to 2009. He was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 2010.
- Adm Sir Trevor Soar (bottom left) was naval fleet commander from 2009 - the year in which he was knighted - until January of this year.
In another video, former naval fleet commander Adm Sir Trevor Soar is shown saying he had "to be slightly careful of lobbying ministers" but said a way to get around the criteria was "basically [to] ignore it".
The paper also alleges that former head of the Army, Lord Dannatt, said he could speak to the MoD's top civil servant, a former school friend.
All four have denied any wrongdoing, and in a statement Lord Dannatt said he had "no inclination" to undertake any lobbying that would contravene the rules.
Mr Hammond told the BBC's Andrew Marr show the "revelations were deeply damaging to the individuals concerned and their reputations".
"There is no way that retired officers influence the way military equipment is procured. I'm satisfied that the system we have is completely robust.
"But there is an issue, firstly about whether any rules have been broken and clearly at least one, possibly more of the individuals named in the Sunday Times piece were still under the terms of the two-year restriction that applies after they have left the service," Mr Hammond said.
'Full disclosure'The defence secretary went on to say that, despite "many reasons" for allowing the MoD to "maintain contact" with retired officers, the level of access should be investigated.
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Defence Secretary Philip Hammond: "There is no way that retired officers influence the way military equipment is procured"
He added: "If they're abusing that access for commercial purposes, then we will have to tighten it up or maybe even shut it down. So that's something we will now look at."
Shadow secretary of defence, Labour MP Jim Murphy, tweeted: "We need full disclosure on every detail and every meeting between those in Sunday Times video and those still serving in the MoD".
Lord Stirrup, the former chief of the Defence Staff, said he was also secretly filmed by the newspaper about his contacts with ministers and the MoD.
He said he advised the undercover reporters there was a "very carefully protected process" for negotiating contracts with the MoD, and that lobbying ministers would not be an effective way to win business.
He also defended his interest in the approach from the journalists, saying it would be "strange" for a military man not to be interested in technology which could save the lives of British soldiers.
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