A Chinese-brand security camera has been removed from Adelaide’s Edinburgh Air Force base because of foreign espionage fears
A CHINESE-brand security camera has been removed from the Edinburgh Royal Air Force base amid fears the Federal Government’s own surveillance equipment could be used against it.
A CHINESE-brand security camera has been removed from the Edinburgh Royal Air Force base amid fears the Federal Government’s own surveillance equipment could be used against it.
The Advertiser has confirmed a Hikvision-brand closed circuit television camera was disconnected at the base because of security concerns.
The US Government has stopped using Chinese Hikvision and Dahua CCTV equipment to eliminate the risk that images could be accessed by communist China’s state intelligence services.
A Defence spokesman said a Hikvision camera at the Edinburgh base had been replaced.
“Should any other Hikvision cameras be located on Defence bases they will also be replaced,’’ the spokesman said.
The Edinburgh base is home to surveillance aircraft, the RAAF’s Air Warfare Centre and houses a control centre for the Jindalee over-the-horizon radar network.
Chinese-brand CCTV cameras are located outside privately-owned buildings in Canberra, which house security organisations and other government agencies.
Charles Sturt University Professor Clive Hamilton, who has written widely about Chinese state espionage and influence in Australia, said non-Chinese brand CCTV cameras could also pose an espionage risk.
Professor Hamilton said many popular brands of the devices were manufactured in China and assurances were needed that they hadn’t been interfered with to allow unauthorised access by foreign spies.
“There are many questions to be asked about whether ‘trap doors’ could been inserted into the devices and, in a way, that is more scary,’’ he said.
Professor Hamilton raised concerns about Chinese surveillance cameras in his book Silent Invasion: China’s Influence in Australia.
He said the Chinese Government could seek to export its extensive surveillance state to other countries, including Australia.
A spokeswoman for the Federal Attorney-General’s Department said a CCTV camera located outside the Australian Government Solicitor’s Office in Canberra had been installed by the owners of the building.
“The camera in question has no connection to the AGS security system,’ the spokeswoman said.
Federal shadow Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said rigorous review processes were in place to deal with potential security concerns related to equipment considered for use by government agencies.
However he said Labor would still be “requesting a security agency briefing to ensure that any possible risks have been considered and mitigated where required”.
Centre Alliance Senator Rex Patrick said the Government needed to remain vigilant about the threat of foreign surveillance in Australia.
The Advertiser last year reported Chinese spies were trying to hack into all three original bidders for the Future Frigates project, and experts say almost all defence companies face espionage attacks.
