February 14, 2023
The West Australian Government will not reveal whether it has Chinese-made security cameras installed in any of its offices but is taking cybersecurity advice from the Commonwealth on the issue.
Defence Minister Richard Marles has ordered the removal of Hikvision and Dahua cameras from the premises of his department, while other Federal offices are also examining replacing them.
Concerns about where data from the cameras made by Chinese government-linked companies might end up have been highlighted after Liberal senator James Paterson unearthed information that more than 900 were installed across Commonwealth premises.
In November, Governments in the United States and the United Kingdom banned the Hikvision and Dahua cameras and other devices such as intercoms and access control systems over national security concerns.
A spokesperson for the WA Government said agencies were required to carry out risk assessments for assets connected to their networks.
“The State Government is seeking further advice through its existing cyber security arrangements with the Commonwealth Government,” they told The West, when asked whether the Government was aware of any Hikvision or Dauhua devices on its premises, or whether it was conducting an audit of all security cameras.
“The WA Government will give appropriate consideration to any formal advice issued in relation to this issue.
“The McGowan Government has invested significant resources in improving the cyber maturity of the WA Government.”
Senator Paterson said governments should be proactive in dealing with the devices.
“State governments should urgently follow the lead of the federal government and audit their exposure to Hikvision and Dahua and remove any devices they find,” he told The West.
“Foreign intelligence agencies aren’t only interested in what happens in Canberra, but all around the country. It’s not a risk worth taking when there are alternatives available.”
National security expert Alexey Muraviev, from Curtin University, said the fact the US and UK had removed these cameras and devices from their buildings showed the security risk was fairly substantial because it was not a cheap exercise to replace them.
Even the remote possibility that information – including video, audio, building layouts and how people move around offices – could end up in the hands of foreign powers would be a “massive security problem”, he said.
“They could potentially record discussions, conversations that may be taking place – and I don’t think people in those buildings are necessarily discussing cricket games or AFL matches,” Associate Professor Muraviev said.
He said it was important to realise that espionage was not just about collecting military secrets, but also targeted political and economic secrets, so no government could have a siloed mentality.
“Would the Chinese be interested in knowing what, say, the Western Australian Government is thinking and planning and strategising in terms of its economic strategy towards China, trade strategy negotiations? They would be interested, obviously,” he said.
“If it comes to discussion of buying more iron ore or great Australian wine or beef products or anything …If we’re talking about multimillion-dollar deals, obviously each side wants to have maximum benefits.
“We should not have this sort of really siloed mentality that if it’s Defence, we should be concerned [but] if it’s like the State Development Office or something like that, we should not be concerned.”
