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LINCOLN – Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers has filed a lawsuit against Lorex Corporation and Lorex Technology Inc. (“Lorex”) for deceiving consumers about serious security flaws and vulnerabilities with their retail camera equipment, which is sold at Costco stores and other major retailers throughout Nebraska.
Lorex was previously owned by Dahua, a Chinese manufacturer of surveillance equipment that was blacklisted by the U.S. government due to its involvement in surveillance and oppression of ethic minorities in China. Under China’s National Security Law, passed in 2017, Dahua is required to share information with the Chinese government when it is needed for “intelligence purposes.” No data collected by Dahua can be withheld from Chinese authorities should they request it.
In 2022, the FCC severely limited imports of Dahua products due to “national security concerns.” The day before the FCC issued its order, Dahua sold Lorex to Skywatch, a Taiwanese holding company. Despite the sale, Lorex continues to use Dahua to source the component parts of its cameras and other surveillance equipment, and its networks and systems are still associated with Dahua. This ongoing relationship has created obvious security concerns that consumers should have been made aware of, but they were not.
Dahua’s cameras have serious security flaws that allow hackers, including those affiliated with the Chinese government, to access video and audio feeds and archives. Other analyses have revealed critical vulnerabilities, including unauthorized access to networks and remote tampering with settings.
