The UK government told its departments to stop installing Chinese Hikvision CCTV cameras and not use these surveillance cameras in its sensitive buildings. Hikvision CCTV ban in the UK to reduce security risks, so you may wonder why the UK government has taken such a decision. Based on the gathered information, the UK government made this decision after a review of possible current and future security risks. This decision is also associated with installing visual surveillance systems on the government estate. We have searched about the UK government banned Chinese Hikvision CCTV cameras and will share our results with you. Stay with us for more information about this ban issue.
Which Types of Chinese Hikvision CCTV Cameras Does the UK government ban?
The UK government’s directive applies to unique cameras. Some security companies are subject to Chinese security laws and make too many Chinese Hikvision CCTV cameras, and the UK government bans them.
The UK government provides the best guidelines for stopping the installation of Chinese Hikvision CCTV cameras. These guidelines guide departments in disconnecting such devices from core computer networks.
According to the Hikvision CCTV ban in the UK, it also tells them to consider removing them altogether. Sensitive departments need safe and secure instruction to seize deployment of their safety equipment. This decision is essential for exposed sites.
The UK government believes they made this decision too late. On the other hand, this decision came months behind dozens of legislators who called for a prohibition on the deal and usage of Hikvision cameras.
Generally, state-owned Chinese firms are not acceptable in the UK security market because these firms are growing fears over privacy concerns over the companies and the company’s products being linked to human rights abuses in China.
Although the UK government banned the Hikvision security camera, the Chinese firms deny the UK claim. The Chinese company also mentions they are not seeking to engage with the British authorities and understand this decision.
Unfortunately, the UK decision slaps trade-in usage restrictions for Hikvision security cameras. Each of the Chinese firms in the security market is unacceptable for the UK government. You can check the news to get sure about this record and claim.
The UK government warns electrical contractors not to install Chinese-made CCTV cameras. Changing the brand of their security cameras makes them avoid trouble. Choosing the proper safety cameras is a big deal and challenge. However, you can substitute them with secure electronic door locks if you are concerned about the Hikvision CCTV ban in the UK.
The UK government warns the contractors not to install Chinese-made CCTV cameras and systems like Hikvision cameras. The UK government is increasingly concerned about the security risk of Chinese state-controlled surveillance systems watching British streets and buildings.
Why does the UK government Ban Hikvision CCTV cameras?
Since the UK government believes the CCTV systems and cameras are not as safe as they need and the People’s Republic of China makes these cameras, the government decided to Hikvision CCTV ban in the UK.
According to gathered information and reports, the UK government orders all its departments and locations to halt the deployment of any such equipment. No matter how big the Chinese manufacturer of these security cameras is, the UK government won’t accept them.
The UK government even banned the Hikvision and Dahua brands. However, Hikvision has hit back. Hikvision believes it is categorically false to represent the company as a threat to national security.
In the following process, Hikvision says it wants to urgently meet with UK officials to understand the decision and to clear up any misunderstandings about its business. The firm says it cannot view its customer’s videos and the Hikvision CCTV ban in the UK is not fair.
You should know that a Hikvision CCTV camera captures these videos that cost their jobs as important people. They suspect the government never caught the person who leaked the footage.
Another planned deployment of Eastern technology on the streets of the UK has been effectively halted recently. The UK government makes owning security cameras with Hikvision CCTV brands illegal.
UK government mostly bans 2 popular Chinese brands in the UK security market. Based on some experts’ ideas, lawmakers cooked up a lousy plan. The lawmakers don’t have any idea what they are talking about.
This article will clarify some common myths and misconceptions about the National Defense Authorization Act and the Secure Equipment Act that led to the Hikvision CCTV ban in the UK. Finally, the UK government banned Chinese Hikvision CCTV cameras because of its fault. We will explain more about this fault in the following part.
What was the fault of the Hikvision CCTV camera?
Several years ago, some experts found significant security flaws in Hikvision’s and Dahua’s security camera firmware. Those security flaws allow hackers to access the camera fully without knowing any login or password information, for instance, hackers may hack Annke cameras.
The term for this type of exploit is a back door condition, which is accidental software vulnerabilities that allow an attacker to gain high-level access to a system by bypassing standard authentication.
However, when the media, regular people, and lawmakers heard about these secret back doors in Chinese cameras, they lost their minds. They assumed not only that the rear doors were put there on purpose but also that the Chinese government could use those back doors to spy on security camera users, which at the time included:
- Government agencies
- Military
The mentioned organizations are the first 2 misconceptions that come in. The first backdoors are intentionally written into code to allow companies to spy on private citizens and foreign governments.
But in my opinion and other regular people from looking at these specific backdoor exploits, neither of them seems like they were put there on purpose; instead, they look like:
- human error
- result of sloppy programming
- bad authentication practices
- not enough security testing
The second fault is that hackers can access every camera with a back door. But for a hacker to use these exploits, they would need access to the camera’s web interface.
All these processes mean that the hacker was either on the same local network as the camera or that the camera itself exposed the events directly to the internet. Both present terrible cyber security and networking practices and will be significantly less forgivable than the sloppy Dahua and Hikvision programs.
Is the Hikvision CCTV security camera safe enough?
Firmware, anyway, based on the news of these backdoors, is still worried about its condition and regular buying plan. Although these brands have disadvantages, Dahua and Hikvision are popular and practical in the UK security market.
Hikvision CCTV security cameras can be safe, but many people in the UK don’t trust the Chinese government, which has a significant stake in Dahua and Hikvision. UK government believes the Chinese government has produced these cameras to spy on people in the UK and their military procedures, which caused the Hikvision CCTV ban in the UK.
The resulting legislation passed several years ago, and the name of this legislation is the National Defense Authorization Act. It prevents government agencies from using security cameras made by Hikvision, Dahua, and other brands.
This process brings UK people to the following 2 misconceptions. First, this rule is applied to private citizens and companies. It is essential to understand that this law must only apply to government agencies and companies directly contracting with the government.
This law has absolutely nothing to do with residential security or private companies. It doesn’t make it illegal for you to own or use Hikvision or Dahua cameras after the Hikvision CCTV ban in the UK.
The second matter about this law is that this regulation only affects Dahua and Hikvision brand cameras. However, the truth is that banning cameras made by Dahua and Hikvision is much more significant than you think.
In addition to selling cameras under their name, Dahua and Hikvision are producing other cameras. They have cameras for other companies, which means that those cameras are also banned under the new law.
In the case of Hikvision, they fully own the sub-brand of a few dozen other companies, while Dahua wholly owns Lorex and countless other brands.
Generally, when the UK government ordered to Hikvision CCTV ban in the UK and passed this rule, Hikvision rank in the world was number 1 and Dahua was number 2.
How many years has the UK government banned Chinese Hikvision CCTV cameras?
Following the previous part, it can be helpful for you to know that the new rule about Hikvision lasts for several years. After some years, a change happens in the presidents of the UK.
Note that this change also doesn’t positively affect the relationship between China and the UK. In the following, the president declared that Hikvision and Dahua threatened national security.
Then, the president signs a bill into law called the Secure Equipment Act, which prevents approving any device manufactured by a company on the national security threat list, and that is where things stop making sense because the bill especially states that its purpose is to protect against federal safety hazards to the contacts supply chain.
However, security cameras are not part of the communication supply chain. It is also strange that the Secure Equipment Act especially applies to the Federal Communication Commission when the FCC doesn’t certify or approve wired security cameras because they don’t have RF radios.
Therefore, they don’t fall under the FCC’s jurisdiction. When Hikvision pointed out that fact, the FCC commissioner Brandon said the FCC should now be poised to close that loophole, which seems strange.
Since the loophole is that the wired devices don’t fall under the FCC’s jurisdiction, also concerning is that in an interview with the commissioner. During the meeting, they said revoking previous FCC certifications for devices is something that they would consider.
If there was a sufficient perceived threat to national security, it is time for the last 2 misconceptions. First, remove all Dahua and Hikvision cameras from your property’s installations.
Is it a good idea that the UK government ban Chinese Hikvision CCTV cameras?
At least the Hikvision CCTV ban in the UK effect on Hikvision and Dahua equipment is not the same as what happened several years before with Huawei and cellphone towers, where the US and the FCC ultimately decided to spend over 1.8 billion dollars to rip out and replace all Huawei telecommunications equipment with other brands.
Not only does the FCC have a much more significant role in regulating cellular communications than they do with wired security cameras. However, cellular networks must connect and be exposed to the exposed, making them a significantly higher security risk than surveillance cameras.
It is terrible that the UK government decided to Hikvision CCTV ban in the UK, which brings brutal conflicts and leaves a challenging condition in case of property security. This law steps into the realm of logic and enters the world of politics, economic policy, and lobbying.
It is naive to think that legislation banning the world’s 2 largest security camera suppliers won’t also result in significant growth for their competitors and kickbacks for lawmakers.
However, my knowledge of politics could be higher compared to the cyber security people and surveillance equipment experts, so I am going to stay out of the argument for the most part.
The second and most significant misconception is that, unfortunately, this legislation implies that as long as you don’t buy cameras from Dahua and Hikvision, your data will be safe, which is just not true.
Any camera can have a security flaw, and any company can have a data breach regardless of country of origin or political ties. For example, some companies and brands had a massive breach a little over a year ago, and an employee caused it.
Final thought
The UK government decided to Hikvision CCTV ban in the UK, for better safety and more secure conditions but there are other security camera issues too. It means there are better solutions than banning Hikvision because different brands may cause more significant problems.
For example, an employee can steal data and try to extort it for millions of dollars. This can happen at any time of the year in every part of the UK.
Hikvision is not the only problem; other brands like Swedish ones also have their main servers, and a hacker can compromise their server too, to the point where they pull the plug on their primary internet connection to cut off all outside access to their servers for multiple days.
To minimize the damages and data exfiltration, the fact of the matter is being more careful. It doesn’t matter which company has made your camera or what kind of silicon it uses.
No IP camera should have access to the internet, period, and doing so opens you to unnecessary risk. The easiest and most foolproof way to ensure that a hacker cannot access accessed cameras is to plug each camera directly into a purpose-built and then leave the internet connection unplugged.
You can still monitor your cameras and view recordings on the NVR itself. There is zero chance of a foreign government or hacker being able to access them without physically coming into your house.
