Backdoors In Chinese-made CCTV Cameras Ping Servers In China

Keneci Channel

CCTV cameras supplied by Chinese state-owned company Hikvision, reportedly contain backdoors that try to connect to servers in China. Western leaders have started raising concerns over the cameras which are widely deployed in government buildings and public spaces in Europe.

Hikvision supplies almost a third of CCTV camera in the global market, over 36 million cameras a year. More than a million Hikvision’s cameras are installed across the United Kingdom.

The Police Federation is one of many UK public bodies to have installed the cameras in their buildings. The CCTV surveillance commissioner has launched an audit of police forces and local authorities to establish how deep Hikvision is embedded in the UK infrastructure.

Reports that some cameras are trying to connect with Chinese servers surfaced last year when Italian TV reported a case involving 140 Hikvision cameras installed at an airport. 11,000 unauthorized requests were reportedly made every hour, the report claimed.

Hikvision is blacklisted in the United States over security concerns, and its links to the suppression of Uyghur Muslim population in northern China.