New Zealand Will ‘Unlikely’ Audit Chinese Security Cameras in Govt Buildings: Minister

A Hikvision CCTV security camera is seen at a building in Canberra on Feb. 15, 2023. AAP Image/Lukas Coch

New Zealand is “unlikely” to conduct an audit of government buildings with Chinese security cameras despite security concerns raised by other nations, New Zealand’s defense minister said on April 4.

“The question is ... whether it’s networked, whether it’s connected to the internet,” said Intelligence Agencies Minister Andrew Little, the New Zealand Herald reported.

“We have protective security requirements—departments know that. It'll be for them to ascertain whether they think there is any undue risk,” he added.

This came after Newstalk ZB reported that 120 Chinese-made surveillance cameras had been installed in various New Zealand government buildings, including the police department, Conservation Department, Ministry of Social Development, and Oranga Tamariki (Ministry for Children).

The cameras were manufactured by Chinese companies Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology and Zhejiang Dahua Technology, both of which have been linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

A spokesperson for the New Zealand Police confirmed that an estimated 60 Hikvision or Dahua cameras were installed “at a limited number of sites” but that they were not connected to the internet, according to the report.

The Department of Conservation said they have 60 Hikvision cameras installed, while Oranga Tamariki and the Ministry of Social Development claimed to have “some” Hikvision cameras.

However, Little said that national security risks like terrorism, foreign interference, and cybersecurity risks are “way more important to me than who might have a camera that we don’t know whether it’s networked or not.”

Australia Orders Removal of Chinese Cameras

Both Hikvision and Dahua have been accused of being involved in the CCP’s human rights atrocities against Uyghurs in China’s western region of Xinjiang and have been banned by the United Kingdom and the United States in November 2022.

Australia had also ordered the removal of all Chinese-made surveillance cameras from government sites after an audit revealed that almost 1,000 Chinese cameras were installed across over 250 sites of Commonwealth departments and agencies, including foreign affairs and defense sites.

Australia’s move came after Shadow Minister for Cyber Security and Countering Foreign Interference James Paterson released the findings of a six-month audit of all commonwealth departments. He launched the audit after the Home Affairs Department failed to advise him on how many Chinese-made devices were installed in government buildings.

It’s revealed that the Chinese-made cameras and security equipment were found in almost every department except Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Agriculture Department.

The Attorney-General’s Department had 195 Chinese-made devices across 29 sites; the Department of Climate Change and Energy had 154; Treasury had 115; Finance had 122; and the Department of Social Services had 134.

The Defense Department was uncertain about the total number of Chinese cameras but said there was at least one.

“This presents a unique ­national security risk to Australia. With Hikvision and Dahua devices fitted across the Australian government, including at the heart of our national intelligence community, the companies and their employees may be forced to provide the Chinese government with their 24-hour access to valuable surveillance data,” Paterson said on Feb. 9.

Paterson, who is on the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, warned about the inherent national security risk, considering that the Chinese companies must hand over data to the CCP’s intelligence agencies under the Chinese National Intelligence Law.

“There has been a number of vulnerabilities identified in these products in the past where remote users could gain full control of them, switch on the cameras or switch on the audio, for example,” he told Sky News.

Cindy Li contributed to this report.