Chinese surveillance camera supplier confirms hacking loophole

A major supplier of surveillance cameras to mainland police confirmed on the weekend that vulnerabilities in its networks exposed clients to cyberattacks from overseas.

The confirmation came after public security officials in Jiangsu issued urgent security alerts to its departments.

Hikvision, based in Hangzhou, confirmed on its microblog that some of its products were at risk of attack from abroad, backing up a statement by the Jiangsu Provincial Public Security Bureau on Friday.

Listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, Hikvision is the biggest supplier of surveillance products and services on the mainland by market value.

The National Business Daily reported in December that the company was preparing to list in Hong Kong to raise HK$354 million.

Hikvision has contracts with mainland public security agencies as well as international conferences such as November's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Beijing and the Boao Forum in Hainan .

A copy of an announcement labelled "urgent" by the Jiangsu provincial public security bureau circulated widely online on Friday, instructing all departments to scrutinise any Hikvision products they were using.