As an example Lorex, a Canadian security camera company founded in 1991, is currently owned by Dahua Technology, a major Chinese video surveillance manufacturer. Dahua acquired Lorex in 2018, which has led to some security concerns and restrictions on Lorex products' use by U.S. government agencies.
Lorex cameras aren't banned for personal use in the US, but face restrictions for government agencies due to cybersecurity concerns. If you own a Lorex NVR system:
Update firmware regularly
Use strong passwords
Limit remote access
Consider network segmentation
Monitor for unusual activity
No need to discard your system, but stay informed about developments. Alternative options exist if you're concerned.
Lorex cameras were rebranded Chinese cameras before 2018, too. For example, the Lorex MCNB2151 is a Hikvision DS-2CD2032. I think they had Hikvision and Dahua models prior to 2018; maybe it's all Dahua now.
> Lorex cameras aren't banned for personal use in the US, but face restrictions for government agencies due to cybersecurity concerns.
Not entirely sure the first half of this is true. iirc not only are many banned for government use under the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, but also they've stopped issuing FCC approvals for many of these under the Secure Equipment Act of 2021.
It'd be easy to get around this ban, but I won't. I believe Dahua and Hikvision are active participants in the Uyghur genocide. They've made custom software specifically to support this genocide (ethnic feature identification models) and have contracted to install their cameras themselves at "re-education camps". See e.g. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/30/uyghur-tribuna...
I am still using some Hikvision and Dahua cameras I bought prior to learning about this. My network configuration does not allow them to contact the outside world. My NVR connects to them via RTSP. This is the only way to do it with cheap, untrustworthy closed-source IP cameras.
Lorex cameras aren't banned for personal use in the US, but face restrictions for government agencies due to cybersecurity concerns. If you own a Lorex NVR system:
Update firmware regularly Use strong passwords Limit remote access Consider network segmentation Monitor for unusual activity
No need to discard your system, but stay informed about developments. Alternative options exist if you're concerned.