The Canadian government has ordered Chinese manufacturer Hikvision to cease its Canadian operations (source: Reuters 28th June 2025). The reason given: Hikvision Canada is injurious to Canada’s national security. The move is largely praised by security experts.
This is the boldest step by any Western government against a Chinese surveillance equipment manufacturer yet. Despite many warnings from Western intelligence services and security experts over the years, it has been largely ignored that large Chinese surveillance equipment manufacturers don’t meet Western cybersecurity standards, are state controlled or have an obligation, by law, to cooperate with the wishes of the Chinese state. For some years now, a number of countries, including the US and UK, have banned some Chinese surveillance equipment from being installed on government contracts or in certain applications.
From a UK perspective, for years Chinese video surveillance equipment has been installed across the country in very large numbers. It is in our biggest companies, government buildings, our schools and universities, and even police stations. This has been predominantly cost driven. In recent years we have seen Hikvision surveillance cameras being banned in the UK by some commercial and public sector organisations, and (some) equipment is being replaced.
What looked a cheap Chinese option in the past now starts to look expensive. Whether the equipment is being replaced or the risk in the installed equipment is chosen to be accepted, it is a heavy price to pay.
You would expect that cybersecurity is a given in any video surveillance installation, or any security equipment for that matter, but unfortunately this is far from the reality. At NW we pride ourselves on our cybersecurity credentials, both in the systems we install and nine consecutive years of Cyber Essentials Plus certification. We are highly selective in the brands and products we offer to our customers, seeing strong cybersecurity credentials and a mature management system as a fundamental criteria for product selection. We promote cybersecurity awareness, sharing and learning. It is built into our DNA as security professionals.
From our own experience, and following a history of warnings in relation to Chinese camera and surveillance equipment manufacturers, and now a cessation order to Hikvision Canada, we’ll continue to highlight to any security equipment buyer or user to stand still for a moment and ask the question whether it is really a good idea to use Chinese video surveillance equipment in your organisation.
For further information on this topic or to speak to an expert, please send us a message.
