Skhemy project claims Chinese surveillance cameras in Ukraine transmit information to manufacturer's servers

The Skhemy project's investigative journalists have discovered how surveillance cameras in Ukraine transmit data to servers controlled by a Chinese manufacturer.

Source: Skhemy, an investigative reporting project by Radio Liberty; journalist Nataliia Sedletska on Facebook 

Details: According to journalists, hundreds of thousands of cameras from Chinese manufacturers Hikvision and Dahua are used in Ukraine.

Skhemy and experts conducted an experiment with devices and discovered that older models may be more vulnerable to hacker attacks. For example, a device produced in 2015 took approximately 15 minutes to hack. 

It is also known that Hikvision and Dahua are partially owned by Chinese state-owned enterprises and may be linked to the Communist Party. Furthermore, the Chinese authorities have obliged the company to provide the state with all information deemed necessary for counterintelligence activities.

According to journalists, Beijing has easy access to videos of Ukrainian cities, strategic enterprises, and frontline settlements.

Therefore, due to China and Russia's longstanding and close cooperation, there is a risk of information being transferred to the Russian Federation via Chinese devices, which are widely used in Ukraine and other countries.

Skhemy also inquired with Ukraine's Security Service about the manufacturer of the camera that the Russians connected to on the day of the massive missile attack on Kyiv on 2 January to monitor the activity of the air defence. A law enforcement source claimed that it was a Hikvision camera manufactured in 2016.

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