Cyber crime has risen considerably across recent years. It’s safe to say, though, that Cyber Security has also advanced, from online countermeasures to physical security.
However, sometimes, the devices that are made for our security, such as CCTV cameras, can be used against us. You may be wondering- how? In this blog, we’ll use Hikvision’s cameras as an example, which have had a vulnerability for over a decade, and in 2025, over 67 million UK attacks were linked to it.
The actual flaw is evident in a large brand manufacturer of surveillance cameras- Chinese firm Hikvision- causing there to be a hacking vulnerability in them.
A report from surveillance tsar Fraser Sampson said Beijing-linked technology was increasingly standard and too many people were ignoring – or unaware of – the risks.
Of course, due to the current tension already with certain matters, such as the Chinese “spy balloons”, a lot of controversy has been generated from this flaw, some suggesting that it was intentional, while others debate the contrary.
“Hikvision has never conducted, nor will it conduct, any espionage-related activities for any government in the world,” it said, adding that its “products are subject to strict security requirements and are compliant with the applicable laws and regulations in the UK, as well as any other country and region we operate in”.
The Chinese firm says its devices were not deliberately programmed with this flaw and it points out that it released a firmware update to address it almost immediately after it was made aware of the issue. It adds that Panorama’s test is not representative of devices that are operating today. But this statement is flawed by the fact that there are still 100,000 cameras online worldwide that are still vulnerable to this issue.
