Australia to replace all Chinese-made security cameras to prevent intelligence gathering by China

Amid potential security threats from Chinese-made security cameras, Australia has decided to remove them, reported Australian Publication The Age.

Victoria Police has confirmed it will replace all Chinese-made cameras by the end of next year to counter foreign intelligence gathering. The Age revealed on Tuesday, the City of Greater Geelong is replacing Chinese-made CCTV cameras amid concerns the makers of such devices are compelled to hand over data to Beijing if asked.

The force said a number of cameras were still operating across the state and despite being deemed low risk, would be progressively replaced, reported The Age.

Victorian Liberal senator James Paterson, who has been pursuing this issue at a federal level through Senate estimates, said he’d like Victoria Police to replace all Chinese-made cameras before the end of 2024.

“I’d like to see much more urgency,” he said. “If they are a national security risk, there should be no delay in addressing it.”

Earlier this week, the Victorian government confirmed it would conduct an audit of all security cameras at government-owned sites.

The federal government has already removed hundreds of Chinese-made devices from Commonwealth departments and locations such as the Australian War Memorial, reported The Age.

A spokeswoman for Victoria Police said the agency was aware of the debate surrounding Chinese-made cameras.

“There continues to be a number of Chinese-manufactured cameras used across the state and these are being progressively replaced,” she said.

The spokeswoman added that while police would continue to monitor the situation, the cameras in question were currently considered low-risk because they were connected to a secure network.

“It is expected the cameras in question will all be replaced by the end of 2024,” she said.

The development has been welcomed by upper house Liberal Democrats MP David Limbrick, whose party opposes mass surveillance, reported The Age.

Devices made by Chinese companies Hikvision and Dahua have been linked to Beijing’s efforts to ramp up facial recognition technology, and coerce and control Uyghur minorities.

An audit of surveillance equipment, conducted by the shadow cybersecurity minister, James Paterson, has confirmed that more than 900 products built by Chinese companies Hikvision and Dahua are installed at government locations.

The US and the UK have already banned these products at government locations, with the US Federal Communications Commission warning of an “unacceptable risk to national security” due to possible espionage and spyware.

Meanwhile, Hikvision has said it was categorically false to suggest the company was a threat to national security, reported The Age.

Source: OpIndia