Dublin: The Human Rights Committee has raised concerns that a CCTV system built by a Chinese Communist Party-owned company spied on the Irish Parliament building, Leinster House. There is a serious allegation in China that the power centres are aware of any policy decisions or even deliberations in government advisory committees before the public, media, or general public are aware of them.
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), a human rights organisation, has spoken out about the use of Hikvision surveillance cameras inside and outside Dublin’s Houses of Oireachtas. In a letter to the Parliamentary Commission, ICCL demanded a risk assessment for the use of Hikvision cameras, an investigation into human rights violations, and the removal of all Hikvision cameras and equipment.
Security researchers have identified the risk of Chinese-made cameras in Parliament being controlled and reporting back to their manufacturing base. It is a serious discovery that hackers can take complete control of various models of Hikvision cameras that detect security flaws on a regular basis. Dr. Kris Shrishak, an ICCL Technology Fellow, stated. Hackers can also record what the cameras see and hear.
“ICCL has directly monitored the Hikvision cameras installed inside and around the Parliament buildings. Cameras are set up to record even private conversations between TDs, Senators, and staff. They will even capture what they say privately.
Hikvision is banned in many Western countries and institutions for safety reasons, and Australia has removed hundreds of the same company’s cameras from its defence sites for national security reasons.
The same cameras were banned from British government buildings in November, following the announcement by the US government that it was banning telecommunications and video surveillance equipment from several major Chinese brands, including Hikvision, in an effort to protect its communications networks.
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