SafeCity
- SafeCity
- 24 February 2023
Vumacam responds to US concern over its use of Hikvision Hardware
Vumacam notes with concern the mention of Vumacam and its use of Hikvision cameras in Resolution 145 made to the US House of Representatives and referred to the Committee Foreign Affairs on 21 February 2023. The Resolution opposes the Republic of South Africa’s hosting of military exercises with the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation, in which the Biden administration was called on to conduct a thorough review of the United States-South Africa relationship. 
The Resolution incorrectly states that “Vumacam, a South African company building a nationwide CCTV network, has partnered with Chinese company Hikvision for the cameras’ hardware.” Vumacam has formally responded to clarify inaccuracies in the resolution.
It has not partnered with Hikvision, but uses hardware from multiple vendors, of which Hikvision is one of many. “There is no partnership in place between Hikvision and Vumacam. Where the resolution notes concerns of the cameras’ use for spying, we again emphasise that any hardware is susceptible to penetration risk if not properly managed, regardless of its brand or country of origin. Vumacam’s strong focus on system security across its network (which is run by its own proprietary platform which undergoes rigorous and regular testing) ensures that it may not be used for any nefarious reason, party or individual,” says Vumacam CEO Ricky Croock.
While we note the Resolution’s concern regarding South Africa’s hosting of Russian and Chinese military activities, we emphasise that Vumacam is a private entity and our cameras and operations are used solely to prevent, investigate, and monitor criminal activity, accidents and malicious damage to infrastructure. Our network is utilised mostly by private security companies, and while we are strongly committed to collaborative efforts with the South African Police Service (SAPS) to tackle concerning levels of crime in the country, our cameras and networks are not programmed, adapted or optimised to be used for spying.
We do not make use of facial recognition technology and the cameras in our networks (whether Hikvision or alternate brands) are not fit for this purpose. This has been extensively documented in the media and in our own communications.
Over and above this, state of the art technology is deployed across our systems and regularly tested to ensure that they are secure.
We regularly review and consider the hardware used in our systems and while we have to date made use of Hikvision – as do many private and governmental institutions globally – we acknowledge the US and UK ban on the use of Hikvision and the reasons therefore. Vumacam bases all decisions on sound business and ethical practice, and will consider all factors of current concern in decision making in future vendor decisions.
