Chinese-Made CCTV Systems, Surveillance of Military Facilities, Drone Cloud Data, and Security Gaps
By Jean CummingsCo-Editor, The Korea Signal
Chinese-made CCTV systems can no longer be treated simply as inexpensive surveillance equipment. Security vulnerabilities that allow external intrusion and remote access have repeatedly been identified in Chinese surveillance equipment, including Hikvision products, and some of those vulnerabilities have been exploited in actual attacks. The United States has formally warned that when such equipment is installed in government facilities and critical infrastructure, China could use it to surveil Americans or threaten communications networks. The United Kingdom has also begun removing Chinese-made CCTV systems from sensitive government facilities because of concerns that they could be hacked and used for remote surveillance. Canada went further, ordering Hikvision Canada to cease operations following a national security review. Chinese surveillance equipment inside government and military facilities is no longer being treated as an ordinary procurement issue.
This report examines how Chinese-made CCTV systems entered South Korean military bases and major public facilities, while also examining how exposed U.S. and South Korean military facilities have become as Chinese nationals repeatedly photograph and surveil military installations.
The previous three reports in this series examined the channels through which China could gain access to South Korea’s semiconductor personnel and manufacturing technology, telecommunications networks, government computer systems, and research institutions. This report examines how those vulnerabilities are now appearing in physical locations, including military bases and major public facilities.
The South Korean military installed Chinese-made CCTV systems at military bases before belatedly removing approximately 1,300 cameras. Subsequent investigations found that Chinese CCTV systems disguised as South Korean products had entered not only the military but also police facilities, ports, highways, airports, local governments, and public institutions.
At the same time, cases involving Chinese nationals repeatedly photographing and surveilling South Korean military installations and other critical national facilities have continued to emerge.
Chinese CCTV Disguised as Korean Products Did Not Enter Military Bases Alone
In July 2024, South Korean intelligence and military authorities conducted a joint inspection of equipment supplied to the military. The investigation revealed that approximately 1,300 CCTV cameras installed at frontline units and other military facilities were Chinese-made. The military had been using the cameras believing they were South Korean products, but investigators determined that the systems had been designed in a way that could allow recorded video to connect to a specific server in China and potentially be transmitted outside the military network. Although no actual data leakage was confirmed, the military decided to remove all of the equipment and replace it with South Korean products.
The problem was that Chinese CCTV systems disguised as South Korean products had not entered military bases alone. In 2024, an analysis by the office of National Assembly member Park Chung-kwon, based on three years of data submitted by the Korea Communications Commission and other agencies, found that approximately 30,000 Chinese-made CCTV cameras had been supplied to government agencies and the public sector while being represented as South Korean products. The disclosed figures included 4,095 cameras at the Korea Land and Housing Corporation, 590 at the Korean National Police Agency, 358 at port authorities, 348 at the Korea Expressway Corporation, and 320 at Incheon International Airport Corporation. Another 14,495 cameras had been installed across 79 local governments. Similar equipment was also found at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute and the Institute for Basic Science, including models manufactured by China’s Dahua.
