Hikvision has denied unlawfully disguising its products sold to the United States government to facilitate Chinese espionage.
However, Hikvision did not respond to inquiries regarding whether it collaborates with Chinese intelligence agencies.
The corporation is the largest manufacturer of surveillance cameras in the world and has close ties to the Chinese government.
It “white labels” its items and sells them to resellers, who resell them to governments and enterprises with their branding.
This is a standard business model. But Hikvision’s ties to the Chinese government and usage of its goods to monitor Uyghurs have drawn scrutiny.
The United States had previously banned Hikvision products from its government supply chains; in November. However, regulators went a step further and imposed a nationwide prohibition, citing national security concerns.
Hikvision is described as “partnering with Chinese intelligence entities” and “using relationships with resellers to disguise its products for sale to government suppliers” in a leaked US government document.
It asserts that this was “creating vectors for Beijing to compromise DoD [Department of Defence] networks” and that the presence of Hikvision products would likely remain in US government supply chains “due to the company’s efforts to conceal its exports to maintain access to US and allies’ markets.”
The document also states that white-labeled Hikvision products were still available to US government customers as of January.
A Hikvision spokesperson stated that the company “has not, does not, and will not violate the law to conduct its business” and that “very clear and longstanding policies are in place to prevent the improper labeling of its products by anyone, for any reason.”
The company stated that it has worked with the United States government for many years to keep its products off their supply channels and to “ensure that our cameras are never sold improperly” to the United States government.
Hikvision’s spokesman didn’t answer whether the corporation shared client data with Chinese spy services.
The company has denied numerous times in the past that it poses a hazard to national security. It previously stated that it cannot access the data of end users and cannot, therefore, transmit them to third parties.
The China Electronics Technology Group Corporation is Hikvision’s largest shareholder.
China is building a massive monitoring network, particularly in Xinjiang, where the Uyghurs accuse the authorities of genocide. The company has also received multimillion-dollar contracts from the government. According to critics, Hikvision has aided the Chinese oppression of the Muslim minority.
Hikvision has been under increased scrutiny, particularly from Western governments who want to eliminate it.
Government departments in the United Kingdom were instructed in November to cease installing surveillance cameras manufactured by Chinese companies on “sensitive sites” due to security concerns. Officials have been instructed to contemplate completely removing existing equipment.
The Australian government announced in February that it would remove surveillance cameras made in China from defense sites.
