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LAST UPDATE | 14 Feb 2023
THE NATIONAL CYBER Security Centre is drafting formal procurement recommendations on the use of certain types of IT equipment for Government data services.
It comes as the The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) sought clarity around media reports that the Office of Public Works (OPW) will conduct a review of best practice regarding CCTV systems.
The human rights group last week raised concerns about the use of Hikvision surveillance cameras inside and outside the Houses of the Oireachtas in Dublin. Hikvision has been linked to the Chinese Communist Party.
A spokesperson for the Taoiseach told reporters today that they do not comment in detail on security matters, but added that the Oireachtas and An Garda Síochána work closely on security arrangements for Members of the Oireachtas and the parliamentary estate.
“The Government is fully conscious of the importance of technology security across Government and other State buildings.
“The National Cyber Security Centre works with Government Departments and Agencies to mitigate the risks associated with IT products and services,” they added.
RTÉ reported yesterday that the OPW, which has responsibility for public buildings, said that “in light of recent developments regarding CCTV” it is to review best practice.
The OPW said it would “implement any recommendations as necessary” after a review “in collaboration with industry experts”.
The ICCL has today written to the OPW and the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission seeking clarity around reports that a review of best practice will be carried out.
“While we acknowledge that the OPW has responded swiftly to the concerns we have raised, we currently have no information about the details of this review,” ICCL executive director Liam Herrick said.
“There are a number of outstanding questions relating to how and when the surveillance cameras currently in the Oireachtas were procured, and the processes and procedures relating to CCTV systems which the OPW and the Houses of the Oireachtas currently have in place,” he said.
Herrick said it is “essential the OPW makes public the intended scope and remit of the reported review and articulate publicly its Terms of Reference, who will conduct the review, what bodies will be consulted as part of the review and the review’s durations and timeline for publications”.
He added that the review needs to address how the OPW assesses questions of data protections, national security and human rights in its procurement processes.
“Finally, given the serious concerns regarding Hikvision, we have asked again whether the OPW and the Houses of the Oireachtas will now remove Hikvision cameras pending outcome of the review,” Herrick said.
Hikvision has been banned in several Western jurisdictions and institutions because of security concerns. This week, Australia removed hundreds of the firm’s cameras from its defence sites due to issues relating to national security.
In November, the US government said it was banning telecommunications and video surveillance equipment from several prominent Chinese brands, including Hikvision, in an effort to protect its communications network.
Security cameras made by Hikvision were also banned from British Government buildings in November.
In a letter to the Oireachtas commission earlier this month, along with the political party leaders, the ICCL raised concerns about the Chinese Communist Party being a controlling stakeholder in Hikvision, and said its devices in Italy had sent data back to China.
“In addition to the risk that cameras inside the Oireachtas may be reporting back to China, security researchers regularly find new security vulnerabilities that allow hackers to seize full control of various types of Hikvision cameras,” the ICCL’s technology fellow, Dr Kris Shrishak, said.
“Hackers can record what the cameras see and, potentially, what they hear.
“ICCL has directly observed Hikvision cameras inside the Oireachtas Buildings and about its grounds. The cameras are positioned at locations where they can capture video of TDs, senators and staff, and their private conversations. They may also capture what was said,” he added.
Speaking at the Foreign Affairs and Defence Oireachtas Committee today, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said that Hikvision security cameras have only been identified by the Department of Defence at a Civil Defence building in Rosscrea, Co Tipperary.
In a statement to The Journal, a spokesperson for Hikvision said “it is categorically ralse to represent Hikvision as a threat to national security”.
“No respected technical institution or assessment has come under this conclusion,” they said.
The spokesperson said that as a manufacturer, Hikvision “does not store end-users’ video data, does not offer cloud storage in the Republic of Ireland and therefore cannot transmit data from end-users to third parties”.
They said Hikvision cameras are “fully compliant with the applicable Irish laws and regulations and are subject to strict security requirements”.
“Hikvision takes all reports regarding human rights very seriously and recognises our responsibility for protecting people,” the spokesperson said.
“The company has been engaging with governments globally to clarify misunderstandings about the company and our business and address their concerns.”
With reporting by Tadgh McNally
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“Those with the most to lose in Ireland, Messrs Quinn, Fitzpatrick and Drumm, for example, are all taking very different approaches.”
Lets not kid ourselves. These people are not the one with the most to lose. Ordinary people are. NIck might well feel he has done his bit in prison and therefore the world was set to right. But he make no mention of the companies gone bust, people out of work, people who had to choose to to pay to health care or feed their kids becuse of the actions of people like those mentioned above or indeed his own.
Do i think these folks should se the inside of a prison? For sure. But we shouldnt be under any illusion that justice is being served (rather than some social blood letting is underway) when the very system that Nick was involved in 13 years ago is exactly the same financial system on place today that gives power to Quinn, Fitzpatrick and Drumm etc to completely mess up our futures. Real justice demands real structural changes to how power and democractic control over our own futures.
Nice comment. well put.
The humility you so obviously display after what can only be described as the pits of hell in that prison is an education. I cant even for a minute contemplate what you went through but you know you paid your price faced up to your massive mistakes and acknowledged you did wrong it takes an intelligent person to do that – thank you for the article this morning
I honestly don’t think Ireland can move on until people like Sean Fitzpatrick are sentenced to long prison sentences! People’s confidence first and foremost has to be restored! However when no apparent action is ever likely to be taken against the likes of Mick Wallace, Ireland can never move on! The Fine Gael/ Labour government are proving to be just as culpable as their predecessors when it comes to turning a blind eye to crimes committed by their own kind! Jailing these people won’t solve our immediate problems, but it will inspire confidence and belief that this country can become a great place to live in once again!
Nick, that sounds like a seriously tough prison. Do you think you would have the same outlook now if you had served time in an Irish prison? I know its not luxurious but do you think that having TV’s, reasonable food, plenty of activities/exercise might not give you the time and space you need to come to terms with why you’re actually there?
Well if not I’m sure we can get a few sadistic volunteers to beat that “time and space” into their lives.
Read human rights reports on our prisons. They’re not pleasant, only recently has reasonable food come in and they’re are most definitely not getting plenty of activities/exercise in any of the prisons I’ve read of.
Now theres a thought, Quinn, Fitzpatrick and Drumm drinking from the prison toilet bowl
I appreciate the very candid and insightful article. It’s a shame that the correctional services don’t have this kind of successful rehabilitation more often. It takes a lot of courage to suffer the level of humiliation that Nick suffered and come out looking people eye to eye.
Mike
I enjoyed your opinion piece. Thank you. It is the clear thesis of the piece that time spent in prison allowed you to progress.It is not so clear why. Could you possibly elaborate on this?
Brilliant article. When you have to honestly face up to your own crap more than you ever imagined the permanent freedom you get from it afterwards is amazing.
I would read it again if I were you.
have your say