WHILE it would be pleasant to take China's assurances Australian government installations have nothing to fear from its affordable smart CCTV cameras that even come with free software at face value, Beijing's past conduct makes that difficult.
China's use of cyberspace to infiltrate Australian government agencies and institutions and businesses is well documented. The country also has much form when it comes to cyber attacks.
This has led some governments, including the USA and the UK, to view the use of any advanced Chinese technology such as the "smart" cameras, mobile phones and in the development of broadband and other networks with a healthy degree of scepticism.
Australia has tended to follow suit. The Turnbull government's decision to block Huawei from participation in Australia's 5G network rollout marked the beginning of the deterioration in Australia-China relations. That reached its nadir under the Morrison government. The relationship is only just starting to thaw. While there is legitimate concern decisions to remove the security cameras manufactured by Chinese companies Hikvision and Dahua could derail the push to normalise relations, national security must come first.
While there is, as yet, no definitive proof the cameras, which may be able to piggy back on networks they are connected to, are being used for espionage, experts will be going over them with a fine toothed comb.
It is known the cameras, which are affordable and come with unique features, can pose a security risk if they are run on an organisation's main computer network.
The fear the cameras could be used as "Trojan horses" to obtain sensitive information is justified given a 2021 Crowdstrike report found the PRC was responsible for two thirds of all state-sponsored cyber attacks worldwide.
Under China's 2017 security law the government can compel any organisation based in the country to hand over any data it has collected and stored from anywhere.
Last August it was revealed a company with close ties to the Chinese government had been bombarding Australia public servants and even journalists with phishing emails for months. Once an unsuspecting worker clicked on to a link their computers would be infected with spyware giving hackers access to their data.
This isn't science fiction; it is happening daily, with a cybercrime being reported in Australia every 7.8 minutes in 2021.
Given Beijing's crackdown on the use of hi-tech Teslas by military and government workers in 2021, its claim Australia is over-reacting rings rather hollow.
It would appear its accusation the Australian government is "over-stretching the concept of national security and abusing state power to discriminate against and suppress Chinese companies" is the pot calling the kettle black.
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