Thousands of controversial Chinese surveillance cameras installed in public places across Ireland
IN GOVERNMENT CORRIDORS, hospital wards, university campuses and council offices across the country, thousands of CCTV cameras record the comings and goings of everyday life.
But behind the lens is a brand at the centre of an international security storm – Hikvision.
Banned from sensitive government sites in the UK, United States and Australia, The Journal Investigates can reveal how the Chinese surveillance giant’s equipment is in widespread use right across Ireland.
That includes over 700 cameras installed by councils. They record footage in swimming pools, courthouses and even a brand new Civil Defence HQ unveiled in Co Cavan last year.
Despite multiple warnings from security experts over use of the equipment, no action has been taken by the government to either remove the devices or issue security advice over their use.
Experts warn Ireland’s current approach to the potential dangers posed by Hikvision raises urgent questions about data privacy, potential foreign access and the State’s alignment with international partners.
“When it comes to things like security cameras, I think it would be naive to wave that aside and not at least have a very in depth conversation about the potential security risks,” Dr Edward Burke, UCD’s assistant professor of war, told us.
“The EU has consistently warned member states to try and firewall critical security, critical national infrastructure, from companies threatening the European Union with mass espionage.
“And one of those countries that they have identified is, of course, China.”
Two Hikvision cameras operating outside the Public Service Centre in Letterkenny Co Donegal. The Journal Investigates
The Journal Investigates
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Cameras in maternity hospital and courthouse
Concerns regarding use of Hikvision surveillance technology in Irish government buildings, including inside and outside Leinster House, were first raised in policy and academic circles in 2019.
However, it wasn’t until late 2022, when other countries such as the UK banned the devices from “sensitive” government sites, that public focus shifted to Ireland’s use of the security cameras.
In a letter sent to the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) called for removal of all Hikvision devices from government buildings.
The February 2023 letter warned that “the presence of Hikvision cameras in Irish public buildings represents an unacceptable risk to privacy, data security, and human rights”.
More than two years on, Hikvision cameras remain installed both inside and outside the Oireachtas.
Today, the organisation renewed it’s call for the State to remove the cameras in a new report which coincides with extensive research by The Journal Investigates.
Our investigaton, along with information gleaned from records supplied to our team by ICCL, exposes the true extent of their use.
These records, obtained via Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, show that most councils in Ireland use Hikvision equipment in public and private spaces.
Many told us that they had never received security advice on their use.
That includes Cavan County Council, which owns and manages the county’s new, state-of-the-art Civil Defence Headquarters and Training Centre.
Officially opened by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment last year, the facility was billed as a flagship for modern emergency response.
It was fitted with 15 Hikvision CCTV cameras as part of strict security measures around the site.
The council confirmed to The Journal Investigates that these cameras are just a handful of the 135 Hikvision devices installed across council buildings countywide – including Virginia courthouse, the county museum and the main recycling centre.
A spokesperson said the local authority “has not received any official advice against using cameras made by this company”.
The Department of Defence, which contributed €150,000 to the HQ’s construction, told us it has no oversight or input into the security provisions for Civil Defence units, leaving such decisions to the local authority.
File photo of garda beside cameras at Leinster House. RollingNews.ie
RollingNews.ie
Councils cite lack of national security advice
It’s not just Cavan using the controversial CCTV systems. Councils in Meath, Kilkenny, Clare, Donegal, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown and many more have rolled out hundreds more of these Chinese cameras in public spaces.
Meath County Council confirmed it currently has 288 Hikvision cameras installed across public facilities, while Kilkenny County Council uses 151 Hikvision cameras at 17 locations.
Just a handful of councils were able to confirm the exact number of Hikvision CCTV cameras currently in use on their sites – this amounted to over 700 across dozens of locations.
Some councils, like Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, have even installed models with “smart facial detection” and “behaviour analysis” capabilities – though they state these features are not activated.
Monaghan, Offaly, Longford, Sligo, Cork City and Wicklow also have similar Hikvision cameras. They too denied using any facial recognition technology inbuilt on the devices.
Not all councils were able to provide The Journal Investigates with information on their current use of the surveillance cameras.
Clare and Donegal, both identified in 2022 FOI research by ICCL as users of Hikvision, failed to respond to repeated queries from The Journal Investigates on whether they still use the devices.
Our team checked and found Hikvision cameras outside Donegal County Council premises earlier this month.
Many councils cited a lack of national direction as justification for continuing to use Hikvision products.
Kilkenny County Council said it “queried” security concerns with its supplier and received a letter from Hikvision’s UK and Ireland HQ stating that “its products present no threat to Ireland’s national security”.
Decisions by the UK, United States and Australia to ban the cameras were influenced by government reviews, parliamentary committee reports and security risk assessments.
The UK ban was prompted by a Cabinet Office security review, while findings from the US Department of Defense, the Federal Communications Commission and other agencies, identified Hikvision as posing an “unacceptable risk” to US national security.
The company claims that “no respected technical institution” has found evidence of security risks, and insists its products are compliant with Irish law.
In a statement to The Journal Investigates, a Hikvision spokesperson said its products meet “internationally recognized industry standards” for safety and security.
“Hikvision UK & Ireland does not decide where to install or maintain devices,” a spokesperson said.
“To be clear; we make the cameras and do not connect them to the end users’ computer systems which cannot be accessed by any CCTV manufacturer, including ourselves.”
The company added that it “issues clear guidelines” for installers on how to secure its devices to third party networks and encourages industry best practices and “proper cyber hygiene”.
One of the main concerns raised about Hikvision is its links to the Chinese Communist Party and the threat of espionage and data harvesting by the Chinese state.
Dr Kris Shrishak, a public interest technologist, told us many investors have red marked Hikvision, citing “serious human rights concerns” and involvement “in the suppression of Uyghur minorities”.
A 2023 investigation reported a product from the company with “Uyghur detection” features was detailed in a Chinese local government contract.
Hikvision told The Journal Investigates it “has never conducted, nor will conduct, any espionage-related activities in the world” and “categorically opposes forced labour and child labour”.
Government stays silent on security advice
Following the British government’s announcement it was to remove Hikvision cameras from sensitive locations, several councils across the UK followed suit.
That includes Edinburgh City Council, which began phasing out use of the Chinese manufacturer’s surveillance in late 2022.
The Journal Investigates and ICCL both independently attempted to retrieve information on what security advice the government received in relation to Hikvision surveillance equipment.
The Office of Public Works (OPW), which maintains security systems across the government portfolio, refused both requests on security grounds.
Instead, a document titled ‘CCTV Specification’ was provided which details which brands of surveillance should be used within the government estate.
Three brands made the list. One of those is Hikvision.
When asked why this was the case, given security concerns around the brand, OPW and Office of the Taoiseach told The Journal Investigates it could not comment on security matters.
Shrishak, who works as an Enforce senior fellow at ICCL, detailed his efforts since 2022 to obtain information from various government departments on their links with the Chinese surveillance manufacturer.
He found that most requests were redirected to the OPW, which provided little to no information on the government’s reliance on Hikvision equipment.
ICCL’s Kris Shrishak says many investors have serious human rights concerns about Hikvision. The Left in the European Parliament via Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
The Left in the European Parliament via Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Over 400 cameras in Beaumont Hospital
Our investigation also reveals how the reach of Hikvision extends beyond councils.
Some of Ireland’s largest hospitals – including Beaumont Hospital and the National Maternity Hospital – use Hikvision cameras in their security systems.
Beaumont told us it currently uses 400 Hikvision cameras installed across its buildings.
The Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital in Dublin says 80% of its CCTV cameras are Hikvision-branded.
While some hospitals told The Journal Investigates they have launched reviews of their systems after learning of the risks, most say they are satisfied their networks are secure and not connected to the cloud or external monitoring.
There was also concern reported in recent years over the installation of Hikvision cameras in the new National Children’s Hospital.
Universities are also affected, with FOI records obtained by ICCL revealing that at least 15 higher education institutions use Hikvision equipment.
This includes Dublin Dental University, the University of Limerick, Technological University Dublin and the Royal College of Surgeons.
In statements to The Journal Investigates, each stated they were satisfied the devices did not present a security risk and confirmed that facial recognition capabilities were not being used.
China identified as threat to the State
Despite the international backlash, Hikvision points to the UK’s continued use of its cameras at non-sensitive sites, and the Oireachtas Committee’s decision to keep the cameras in Leinster House as evidence of their safety.
Hikvision itself claims that “regulatory clarity” in the UK and Ireland “removes any confusion regarding our viability”.
However, privacy advocates and security experts warn that Ireland is lagging behind its international peers in addressing the risks posed by foreign-made surveillance equipment.
“If you look at the latest defence review, it identifies China as a potential threat to the State,” UCD’s Burke told The Journal Investigates.
“So we cannot look at China in a way that we look at democratic countries and anticipate that there is a significant degree of separation between the intelligence services and the private sector. In China, that’s just not true.”
Burke said that taking action to protect the State’s national security and infrastructure does not mean Ireland cannot do business with China.
“Other European countries have had this conversation, but there are certain sectors of the State that may need to be off limits.
“The only way to decide that is having very sophisticated and regular security briefings to ensure that the infrastructure is not compromised,” he said.
There needs to be a much greater degree of cross-cabinet, cross-government awareness of these types of security threats.
“It’s also time to make security assessments more public when it comes to things like critical national infrastructure or security infrastructure in the State.”
The Journal Investigates
Reporter: Patricia Devlin • Editor: Maria Delaney • Social Media: Cliodhna Travers • Video: Nicky Ryan • Main Image Design: Lorcan O’Reilly (photo via RollingNews.ie)
