International. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2019 contains a provision prohibiting U.S. government agencies from purchasing Dahua and Hikvision products, including their OEMs.
With Monday's signing, President Trump ratified a $716 billion defense bill and with it a ban on U.S. government agencies from buying video surveillance products made by Dahua and Hikvision, among other telecommunications equipment from Chinese companies.
The ban points to growing suspicion in the United States against Chinese technology and potential cybersecurity threats posed by the Chinese government. It was included as part of an amendment to the defense bill proposed by Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.).
"We must face the reality that the Chinese government is using every avenue at its disposal to target the United States, including expanding the role of Chinese companies in the U.S. national communications and public security sectors," Hartzler said in a statement. "Video surveillance and security equipment sold by Chinese companies exposes the U.S. government. To significant vulnerabilities and my amendment will ensure that China cannot create a video surveillance network within federal agencies."
Along with the Dahua and Hikvision-branded equipment portfolios, each company's extensive OEM or white label agreements also fall under the technology ban, along with other suppliers using the company's equipment.
The bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), states that the ban will take effect on August 13, 2019. Language in the U.S. federal agency acquisition ban includes:
"For purposes of public safety, security of government facilities, physical surveillance of critical infrastructure security and other national security purposes, video surveillance and telecommunications equipment produced by Hytera Communications Corporation, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company or Dahua Technology Company (or any subsidiary or affiliate of such entities)."
Hytera is a provider of radio communication devices. Also included in the ban are ZTE Corp., the Chinese telecommunications giant, and Huawei Technologies Co., China's largest telecommunications equipment maker. Products manufactured by ZTE Corp. and Huawei have been effectively blocked from the US. Since a congressional report in 2012 warned that the equipment could pose a threat to national security, which both companies have refuted.
In a statement released to SSI, Hikvision said the ban "was quickly drafted without sufficient evidence, review or investigation to ensure the restrictions on video surveillance technology described in section 889."
The statement continues:
"The process resulted in an ambiguous provision with potentially far-reaching implications for U.S. companies and represents a rejection of the U.S. government's commitment. To use a standards-based approach when assessing security risks in federal procurement."
Hikvision said it is committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations and has made efforts to ensure that the safety of its products goes beyond what is required by the U.S. government. These efforts include certification under Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2, as well as the opening of its Source Code Transparency Centre (SCTC), which makes the company's source code available for review by government authorities and agencies in the U.S. Canada.
For his part, Dahua made a statement posted on his website on Aug. 3 in reaction to the NDAA before it became law.
"We understand that in today's security industry, cybersecurity is the biggest challenge. We have provided solutions to correct those problems with our customers. We take cybersecurity very seriously by implementing a 7-module cybersecurity baseline in our product design," according to the statement. In the meantime, we continue to work with third-party partners such as DBAPP Security and Synopsys Technology, to rigorously test our products to combat current cybersecurity vulnerabilities."
The Security Industry Association continues to explore possible ramifications of the ban.
"At this point, SIA is investigating the language of the NDAA and seeking guidance on how some specific provisions related to the security industry will be interpreted," said Don Erickson, CEO of SIA.
