South Korean military dismantles 1,300 cameras of Chinese origin

South Korean officials said in late July that during equipment inspections, military and intelligence agencies discovered that surveillance cameras supplied by a South Korean company were actually made in China.

The military removed all of the cameras and replaced them with domestically produced equipment due to security concerns. To date, about 100 new cameras have been installed.

The South Korean military has just announced the removal of more than 1,000 cameras made in China.

In a statement to AFP, the South Korean Defense Ministry said the problem was discovered during inspections of foreign equipment in the first half of this year, aimed at identifying security vulnerabilities in devices put into use in the military.

A South Korean official said the cameras were found to be able to transmit footage outside the country by connecting to a specific Chinese server, but he insisted no data had actually been leaked.

The dismantled surveillance cameras were not used to monitor the border with North Korea, but were instead used to monitor military training areas and base fences, the official said. Some of the cameras were installed as early as 2014.

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The company that supplied the cameras is suspected of falsifying the origin of the equipment. The military is considering taking legal action and demanding compensation from the company.

A similar move also took place in Australia, when officials there said last year that the Australian Department of Defense and Department of Foreign Affairs removed surveillance cameras supplied by Chinese-run companies, after reports that the cameras posed a security risk, according to Reuters.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/quan-doi-han-quoc-thao-do-1300-camera-co-xuat-xu-trung-quoc-185240914085318644.htm