US Congress bans Chinese-made cameras

In August of 2018, Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)

Section 889 "Prohibition on Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment".

This bans government agencies (such as police departments and schools) from doing business with any contractor who sells or performs services on parts made by a banned manufacturer for ANY of their clients, even outside of the contract with that agency.
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Examples of blacklisted manufacturers are HikVision, Dahua, Alhua, and Huawei.
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The ban includes equipment manufactured under subsidiary names (EX: IC Realtime, Zuum, ADI, Lorex), and equipment which contains any part (such as a microprocessor) manufactured by one of the banned companies.
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Hikvision and Dahua have well documented backdoor vulnerabilities, with Hikvision receiving the worst possible rating from the Department of Homeland Security.


Custom Audio Video serves government and commercial entities such as NASA, police departments, and school districts, in addition to its residential clients. As such, to be in compliance with NDAA Section 889 requires the company to not sell or perform service on any part from a banned manufacturer.


Starting in 2021, an increasing number of companies began marketing their products as "NDAA compliant". While this marketing is typically correct in that those products are not produced or using critical components from blacklisted companies, it does not ensure that a product is free from any cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
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The NDAA blacklist serves to target national security risks, but does not test or guarantee that NDAA compliant products are free from vulnerabilities.  NDAA-compliant products may still regularly suffer from cybersecurity incidents.


To optimize the safety of your camera system, contact one of our experts today!