A UK security conference where banned Chinese tech firms will be allowed to rub shoulders with Government officials poses a “serious” risk, intelligence sources say.
The annual trade fair and conference for the global security industry, IFSEC, will host 95 Chinese firms at the ExCel arena in Birmingham in May, including Hangzhou Hikvision digital technology company and Dahua technology company – whose security cameras are both banned in UK Government buildings.
The conference will allow the firms to rub shoulders with attendees from Government departments and the Metropolitan Police leading to warnings from intelligence officials over the vulnerabilities the conference poses.
An intelligence officer told i that Chinese intelligence would be monitoring the companies exhibiting at IFSEC and “utilising opportunities” to give Chinese companies an “economic edge” when developing new kit.
“Trade shows are massive intelligence gathering opportunities and when opportunities to be at the forefront of them are presented,” he said. “They are taken and exploited with glee.”
Keynote speeches will be given by Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam and Joanna Lumley, while seminars are set to be held by officials from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office as well as advisers to the UK Government.
Further concerns have been raised over the firms attending IFSEC due to the conference’s crossover with Counter Terror Expo (CTX) – one of the UK’s flagship security events in the calendar – happening at the same time at the ExCel.
The CTX invites officials from every sensitive department in intelligence and defence across the UK to explore the latest counter-terrorism technologies and strategies to combat the latest threats facing the UK and its partners.
A former intelligence officer said the decision to host the two events in close proximity is “absolute madness,” and believes the opportunity will be exploited.
“No way should they be co-located at ExCel at the same time,” they told i. “Chinese intelligence will be exploiting any opportunity presented through co location.”
Senior backbench Tory MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith told i: “It is yet another example of our slack attitude when it comes to the threat posed by China and in particular their tech companies like Hikvision.
“Government officials and ministers should avoid contact with these Chinese companies and those UK tech companies should be clearly warned to avoid all contact with them.”
Partly owned by the Chinese government, Hikvision and Dahua are two of the biggest CCTV providers in the world, and according to a report by Big Brother Watch, more than 60 per cent of all public bodies in the UK use Hikvision and Dahua surveillance.
Last year, the UK government banned the use of both companies’ security cameras in government buildings, suggesting that they may pose a threat to the UK’s national security.
The decision came after a review of “current and future possible security risks associated with the installation of visual surveillance systems on the government estate,” cabinet office minister Oliver Dowden said in a written statement to parliament.
“The review has concluded that, in light of the threat to the UK and the increasing capability and connectivity of these systems, additional controls are required,” Mr Dowden said.
Hikvision and Dahua were among five Chinese state-linked firms revealed by i to have been blocked from playing any role in a UK Government-led scheme to help rebuild Ukraine because of tensions between the US and China.
Both companies are exhibiting their products at the expo and a representative from Dahua is scheduled to host their own seminar at the expo under the heading “code of practice for installers.”
Another intelligence official said there were clearly “security concerns” around events like these, and said it illustrates the “challenge” of coming up with a comprehensive policy approach to China.
“They would never pass up the opportunity to a bit of light recreational espionage,” they told i. “Of course, if our intelligence agencies are doing their job properly, the risk cuts both ways.”
The news comes shortly after the UK’s commissioner for biometrics and surveillance cameras, Fraser Sampson was forced to withdraw from a security conference because Hikvision were a prominent sponsor of the event.
In his role, Mr Sampson has repeatedly challenged Hikvision to come clean about the extent of its involvement with the Chinese state’s human rights abuses in Xinjiang and he says that giving the firm the ability to pitch to Government officials is beginning to look “embarrassing”.
He told i: “Its starting to look embarrassing with the inconsistency of the approach because we either trust these companies and their associated states or we don’t, and I thought the position was that we don’t.”
Mr Sampson recently pulled out of CCTV User Group’s Vision 2022 event in Northamptonshire next month because Hikvision had still not answered his questions about the firms alleged links to human rights abuses.
“We have to continue with commercial life but the very fact that some of those companies which aren’t trusted by Government,” he said, “means despite all that there’s still a lot of money to be made.”
A Hikvision Spokesperson said: “Hikvision is proud to have a longstanding relationship with IFSEC, with over a decade of exhibiting at the conference and showcasing our products to the UK security community.
“Hikvision has no control over where the conference occurs, or what other events take place in the Excel during IFSEC, and categorically denies that our presence is a security risk”.
IFSEC and Dahua Technology Company did not respond to requests for comment.
