Hikvision

History

Hikvision was founded in 2001 by Zhejiang HIK Information Technology Co., Ltd. () with the company having a 51% stake and Gong Hongjia () a 49% stake at that time.

Hikvision has been listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange since 2010.

In October 2016, the company concluded a deal to use Movidius' computer vision technology.

In May 2017, Hikvision established Hikstorage, a subsidiary focused on the production of storage devices.

In January 2021, the company won a US$33 million, 1,900-camera smart city project in Shanghe County, Shandong that includes cameras with facial recognition and license plate recognition technologies.

In 2021, Best Buy, Home Depot, and Lowe's stopped selling cameras from Hikvision brand Ezviz due to concerns about Hikvision's complicity in surveillance and human rights violations in Xinjiang.

In 2022, Hikvision was awarded a Chinese government contract to develop software to track "key people" in order to prevent them from entering Beijing. The same year, IPVM also reported that Hikvision has specific alarms in its software to alert Chinese police to "religion, Falun Gong, and various protest activities. In 2022, Hikvision won a "smart campus" contract with the Chinese government to alert university administrators of students fasting during Ramadan. Amazon Web Services provides cloud services to Hikvision. In 2023, Hikvision released software that includes ethnic minority detection. In January 2024, Hikvision joined the United Nations Global Compact.

Sanctions and bans

In January 2019, the U.S. government began considering whether it should sanction Hikvision, which American government officials described as having "provided thousands of cameras that monitor mosques, schools, and concentration camps in Xinjiang."

The U.S. government banned Hikvision from receiving federal government contracts in August 2019 due to security concerns. In October 2019, Hikvision was formally placed on the Entity List by the U.S. government, which stated that it was involved in surveillance of Uyghurs in Xinjiang and of other ethnic and religious minorities in China. Hikvision expressed its opposition to the U.S. decision and stated that they believe the decision had no factual basis. They urged the U.S. government to re-examine its decision.

In response to the bans and sanctions, Hikvision has hired former U.S. ambassador Pierre-Richard Prosper "to advise the company regarding human rights compliance" as well as numerous lobbyists, including former U.S. senators David Vitter and Barbara Boxer, former U.S. congressman Toby Moffett, and a former senior OFAC official.

In August 2020, the Indian government banned Hikvision from bidding in government tenders and also required removal of Hikvison cameras from military and high-security areas.

In April 2021, the European Parliament confirmed that it had removed Hikvision thermal cameras from its premises following the approval of an amendment sponsored by Dutch MEP Lara Wolters calling for the removal of "all of Hikvision’s thermal cameras from Parliament’s premises" due to "an unacceptable risk that Hikvision, through its operations in Xinjiang, is contributing to serious human rights abuses."

In July 2021, the UK Foreign Affairs Select Committee published a report stating that Hikvision cameras "have been deployed throughout Xinjiang, and provide the primary camera technology used in the internment camps".

In June 2022, documents from the Xinjiang Police Files showed how Hikvision technology is used by Xinjiang police to surveil all Xinjiang residents.

In June 2021, 224 Hikvision products were banned for one year by South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT over forged test reports.

In September 2021, the Indian Navy's headquarters "asked its all formations to 'discontinue' procurement of CCTV cameras and surveillance systems from Hikvision," according to The Week. The Week also reported that the Indian Navy had ordered the replacement and destruction of its existing Hikvision cameras.

In April 2022, the UK Department of Health and Social Care banned the purchase of Hikvision cameras. In November 2022, the UK prohibited the use of Hikvision equipment in government buildings.

In August 2022, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment of New Zealand said that it would stop buying Hikvision cameras.

In February 2023, Australia's Department of Defence announced that it will remove cameras made by Hikvision from its buildings.

In June 2023, Ukraine's National Agency on Corruption Prevention declared Hikvision an "international sponsor of war" for supplying dual-purpose equipment to Russia that can be used for military purposes.

In October 2023, Hikvision reportedly recommitted its operations to the United Kingdom after clarifying that the ban on its cameras on sensitive sites does not extend to public authorities or police stations. The use of their security cameras was adopted by U.K. authorities despite opposition from ministers worrying of "security threats". As a response, the U.K. parliament updated the definition of their ban on sensitive sites.

In December 2023, Quebec banned the use of Hikvision technology in government. In January 2024, Taiwanese authorities indicted a Hikvision employee for illegally recruiting and establishing a Hikvision office in Taiwan through a shell corporation.

United States

In November 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order prohibiting any American company or individual from owning shares in companies that the United States Department of Defense has listed as having links to the People's Liberation Army, which included Hikvision. In December 2020, Hikvision was removed from FTSE Russell.

On 12 January 2021, the Joe Biden inaugural committee returned a $500 donation to former U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) after she registered as a foreign agent for Hikvision.

In March 2021, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) declared that Hikvision services and equipment "pose an unacceptable risk to U.S. national security." After President Joe Biden signed into law the Secure Equipment Act of 2021, in November 2022, the FCC banned sales or import of equipment made by Hikvision for national security reasons.

In March 2023, four Hikvision subsidiaries were added to the United States Department of Commerce's Entity List. In April 2023, BBC News reported that the US Department of Defense believes that Hikvision products are being white labeled and resold to the US government, creating a security risk.

In March 2025, the FCC opened an investigation into Hikvision and other Chinese companies regarding operations in the U.S. in violation of restrictions.

Lobbying

In 2018, Hikvision hired Sidley Austin and The Glover Park Group to lobby the U.S. federal government on its behalf. After having been initially registered under the U.S. Lobbying Disclosure Act from the start of their representation, the US Department of Justice requested Sidley Austin to update their registration under the Foreign Agents Registration Act in 2022. With the updated registration, the firm reported having received approximately $7.4 million in fees between 2018 and 2022, according to Reuters.

Canada

In June 2025, the Canadian federal government ordered Hikvision to close its operations in Canada due to national security concerns. In September 2025, the Federal Court dismissed a request from Hikvision to have the ruling thrown out.

Contribution to mass surveillance

Hikvision has been accused of supplying cameras for the purpose of surveillance of Palestinians in the West Bank, and in the mass surveillance of Uyghurs and the Xinjiang internment camps.

Cybersecurity vulnerabilities

In May 2017, seven series of Hikvision cameras were affected by an improper authentication vulnerability which, if exploited, could allow "a malicious attacker [to] escalat[e] his or her privileges or assum[e] the identity of an authenticated user and [obtain] sensitive data," according to the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

In May 2021, Italian public broadcaster RAI reported that Hikvision cameras automatically "opened communication channels with addresses registered in China" once connected to the internet. Hikvision declined to comment on the RAI investigation.

In September 2021, Hikvision announced a command injection vulnerability with the CVE-ID CVE-2021-36260. Forbes reported that the vulnerability, which has a CVSS base score of 9.8 out of 10, left dozens of Hikvision camera models "susceptible to remote hijacking" without requiring a username or password.

In 2022, Axios reported that Hikvision had hired FTI Consulting to conduct cybersecurity audits of its products.

Ownership

Hikvision was owned by China Electronics Technology HIK Group Co., Ltd. (HIK Group, ), a wholly owned subsidiary of China Electronics Technology Group, which has a 39.59% stake. China Electronics Technology Group is a state-run enterprise owned and supervised by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council. China Electronics Technology Group holds an additional 1.96% stake of Hikvision via its 52nd research institute (). The Chairman of Hikvision, (), is also the chairman and the Party Committee Secretary of HIK Group, and Head of the aforementioned research institute.

the firm's largest individual shareholder was vice-chairman Gong Hongjia with a 13% stake. As of 12 December 2019 Fidelity International was also a major investor in Hikvision.

In 2017, the third largest shareholder was a private equity fund () which had a 7% stake, which is associated with then Hikvision general manager Hu Yangzhong. According to previous filing, "Xinjian Weixun" was also associated with Liu Xiang (), former director (from 2015 to March 2018) and former deputy general manager of Hikvision, then deputy general manager of HIK Group, chairman of sister listed company Phenix Optical.

In 2017, the fourth largest shareholder was another private equity fund () which had a 2% stake. The fund was partly owned by Gong's wife Chen Chunmei () and aforementioned Hu Yangzhong. Hu Yangzhong also owned an additional 1.33% stake personally. To sum up, those shareholders owned a combined 65.71% stake. Lastly, Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company owned 9.77%, which was the nominees of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect and Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect.

In 2021, IPVM alleged that Hikvision was created and controlled by the Chinese government.

Alleged attempts to conceal government ownership

In 2015, IPVM criticized Hikvision for allegedly obscuring its Chinese government ownership. Jeffrey He, president of Hikvision North America, had criticized the online blogger site for allegedly seeking financial gain.

Alan West, in a 2016 interview published by The Times (and re-published by The Australian), suggested that Hikvision's ownership raised ethical and security concerns when it came to the usage of Hikvision's products by the British government.

Notes

References

References

1. "Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co Ltd". Bloomberg L.P..
2. (17 April 2021). "Hikvision 2021 Quarter 1 Report January to March 2021". HANGZHOU HIKVISION DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD..
3. (17 September 2016). "China funded Hikvision's CCTV with eyes across globe". The Australian.
4. Allen-Ebrahimian, Bethany. (24 June 2020). "Defense Department produces list of Chinese military-linked companies, 20 years after mandate".
5. (April 17, 2023). "Hikvision internal review found contracts targeted Uyghurs". [[Axios (website).
6. Shepardson, David. (7 October 2019). "U.S. puts Hikvision, Chinese security bureaus on economic blacklist". [[Reuters]].
7. Strumpf, Dan. (25 May 2021). "Chinese Surveillance-Gear Maker Hikvision Has Ties to Country's Military, Report Says". [[The Wall Street Journal]].
8. (29 April 2021). "EU Parliament Removes Hikvision, Citing Human Rights Abuses".
9. "Changfa, Hikvision and Aisidi land on SME board".
10. Condon, Stephanie. "Movidius, Hikvision partner to make smarter security cameras". ZDNet.
11. "Hangzhou Hikstorage Technology Co., Ltd.".
12. Cheng, Isabella. (28 January 2021). "Hikvision Wins $33 Million Smart City Project Beating 3 Integrators". IPVM.
13. (25 October 2021). "Best Buy and Home Depot drop security cameras linked to Uyghur surveillance".
14. (2022-06-25). "Hikvision Wins PRC Police Project To Predict Protesters Entering Capital".
15. (2022-06-26). "'An Invisible Cage': How China Is Policing the Future". [[The New York Times]].
16. Bhuiyan, Johana. (29 December 2022). "Police in China can track protests by enabling 'alarms' on Hikvision software". [[The Guardian]].
17. (November 13, 2023). "Hikvision Wins Project Requiring Ramadan Alerts Against Minorities". [[IPVM]].
18. Healy, Conor. (2022-09-26). "Amazon Powers Dahua and Hikvision Sales and Cloud Services".
19. Rollet, Charles. (October 24, 2023). "Hikvision Violates Pledge, Ethnic Minority Analytics In Latest Platform". [[IPVM]].
20. "Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co., Ltd.".
21. (15 January 2019). "How the Left Should Respond to Ethnic Cleansing in China". [[The Nation]].
22. "China Undercover". [[PBS]].
23. Lohr, Steve. (7 August 2019). "U.S. Moves to Ban Huawei From Government Contracts". The New York Times.
24. [https://uscode.house.gov/statutes/pl/115/232.pdf John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019] {{Webarchive. link. (2020-12-23, section 889(f)(3)(B). Retrieved 3 January 2020)
25. Cockerell, Isobel. (28 June 2021). "The murky Chinese surveillance company at the center of a UK health ministry scandal". [[Coda Story]].
26. (9 October 2019). "Addition of Certain Entities to the Entity List".
27. 新浪财经综合. (9 October 2019). "美将28家中国组织和企业列入实体清单 中企表示不服". Sina Corp.
28. (22 May 2019). "China's Hikvision Has Probably Filmed You". [[Bloomberg News]].
29. Allen-Ebrahimian, Bethany. (29 October 2019). "What a lobbyist's remarks behind closed doors tell you about Chinese money in Washington". [[The Washington Post]].
30. Honovich, John. (29 October 2019). "Senator Vitter Becomes "Proud Member Of The Hikvision Team", Calls Out "Anti-China" Rubio".
31. Markay, Lachlan. (7 July 2021). "Chinese surveillance firm hires former top U.S. sanctions official as lobbyist". Axios Media.
32. (2020-08-04). "Indian Government Restricts PRC Manufacturers From Public Projects".
33. Rollet, Charles. (29 April 2021). "EU Parliament Removes Hikvision, Citing Human Rights Abuses". IPVM.
34. Vallance, Chris. (14 August 2021). "CCTV watchdog criticises Hikvision Uyghur response". [[BBC News]].
35. Allen-Ebrahimian, Bethany. (2022-06-14). "HikVision cameras help Xinjiang police ensnare Uyghurs".
36. Rollet, Charles. (22 June 2021). "224 Hikvision Products Banned for One Year by South Korea". IPVM.
37. Sagar, Pradip R. (3 September 2021). "EXCLUSIVE: Indian military under target by Chinese origin surveillance systems". [[The Week (Indian magazine).
38. Titcomb, James. (16 April 2022). "Health department bans Chinese cameras that caught Matt Hancock's affair". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
39. (2022-11-25). "UK restricts Chinese cameras in government buildings over security fears". [[Reuters]].
40. (2022-08-09). "Ministry will no longer accept equipment from Chinese firm Hikvision".
41. (2023-02-09). "Australian Defense Department to remove Chinese-made cameras".
42. Rollet, Charles. (12 June 2023). "Ukraine Declares Hikvision and Dahua "Sponsors of War"". [[IPVM]].
43. (8 February 2024). "Investigation: China's Hikvision, Dahua Security Cameras Heighten Risks Of Russian Attacks On Ukraine". [[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]].
44. (2023-10-23). "Chinese surveillance firm recommits to UK after new guidance". The Guardian.
45. Gabriel, Friedman. (11 March 2024). "Chinese-made cranes used at Canadian ports flagged as security concern by U.S.". [[Financial Post]].
46. (2024-01-03). "Man charged over alleged plans with firm linked to PLA".
47. (2024-01-02). "Taiwan indicts man for helping China's Hikvision recruit talent".
48. Chen, Shawna. (12 November 2020). "Trump bans Americans from investing in 31 companies with links to Chinese military". [[Axios (website).
49. (12 November 2020). "Trump bans U.S. investments in firms linked to Chinese military". [[Reuters]].
50. (5 December 2020). "FTSE Russell to drop eight Chinese firms after U.S. blacklisting". [[Reuters]].
51. (12 January 2021). "Biden Returns Donation from Dem Ex-Senator Who Registered as Foreign Agent for China". Yahoo! News.
52. Shepardson, David. (13 March 2021). "Five Chinese companies pose threat to U.S. national security: FCC". Reuters.
53. (2022-11-25). "U.S. bans Huawei, ZTE equipment sales citing national security risk". [[Reuters]].
54. (2023-03-28). "US slaps trade curbs on 5 Chinese firms over alleged role in Uyghur repression". [[Reuters]].
55. (2023-04-18). "Hikvision: Chinese surveillance tech giant denies leaked Pentagon spy claim". [[BBC News]].
56. Shepardson, David. (March 21, 2025). "FCC probing if Chinese tech, telecom firms seeking to evade US restrictions". [[Reuters]].
57. Cadell, Cate. (August 28, 2019). "Hikvision, a surveillance powerhouse, walks U.S.-China tightrope". [[Reuters]].
58. Scarcella, Mike. (2022-10-17). "Sidley Austin reveals work for Chinese surveillance firm under foreign agents law". Reuters.
59. Martina, Michael. (2024-03-11). "Exclusive: Former US official's work for Chinese client stirs concern over disclosure loopholes". Reuters.
60. "Ottawa orders Chinese tech firm to close Canadian operations over national security".
61. (2025-06-27). "Ottawa orders Chinese company Hikvision to shut down operations over national security concerns". [[The Globe and Mail]].
62. (2025-09-23). "China's Hikvision to challenge Canadian court endorsement of shutdown order". [[Reuters]].
63. "Automated Apartheid: How facial recognition fragments, segregates and controls Palestinians in the OPT".
64. Bhuiyan, Johana. (2023-11-11). "How Chinese firm linked to repression of Uyghurs aids Israeli surveillance in West Bank". The Guardian.
65. . (4 May 2017). ["ICS Advisory (ICSA-17-124-01)"](https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ics/advisories/ICSA-17-124-01). *CISA*.
66. Rollet, Charles. (17 May 2021). "Italian State News Investigates Hikvision". IPVM.
67. . (28 September 2021). ["RCE Vulnerability in Hikvision Cameras (CVE-2021-36260)"](https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ncas/current-activity/2021/09/28/rce-vulnerability-hikvision-cameras-cve-2021-36260). *CISA*.
68. Mathews, Lee. (22 September 2021). "Widely-Used Hikvision Security Cameras Vulnerable To Remote Hijacking". Forbes.
69. Markay, Lachlan. (4 January 2022). "Chinese surveillance firm ramps up fight against regulators". Axios.
70. (21 April 2018). "2017 Annual Report". Hikvision.
71. (14 November 2019). "One of China's richest men named in Hikvision securities probe". Reuters.
72. (23 December 2019). "Investor defends backing blacklisted Chinese firm". [[BBC News]].
73. link. (9 April 2016). Hikvision
74. (3 May 2021). "Hikvision: Created And Controlled By China PRC Government".
75. (29 August 2016). "Hikvision PRC China Government Origin And Control".
76. (7 December 2015). "Hikvision And The Chinese Government". IPVM.
77. Karantzoulidis, Steve. (17 February 2017). "Hikvision President Chats With SSI About Cybersecurity, Privacy Concerns".