Statement from Amcrest regarding Dahua technology prohibition

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flptrnkng
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Jul 16, 2019 10:36 am

Statement from Amcrest regarding Dahua technology prohibition

Post by flptrnkng »

Has there been a statement from Amcrest regarding their cameras that are Dahua re-brands?

Will Amcrest be able to continue importing and selling them? If I missed an announcement, link me, please!

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/s ... equipment/
GaryOkie
Posts: 418
Joined: Mon Apr 27, 2020 7:23 pm

Re: Statement from Amcrest regarding Dahua technology prohibition

Post by GaryOkie »

You're unlikely to get an official response here. Try contacting support to see if you can.

My understanding of these new US FCC rules is that it will have no effect on Amcrest sales despite OEM'ing Dahua products. Amcrest is neither an affiliate nor subsidiary of Dahua and is privately owned with all US shareholders. (source). Amcrest adopts the majority of the firmware and API directly from Dahua, but at least modifies the firmware to use US AWS Hosting with no China connections/back doors (that we know of!).

Dahua has publicly responded that it is confident it can continue to provide consumer cameras "provided they are not marketed for public safety, government facilities, critical infrastructure, or national security purposes.".

AFAIK, Amcrest only markets to consumers as well, with Amazon being the primary market presence.
GaryOkie
Posts: 418
Joined: Mon Apr 27, 2020 7:23 pm

Re: Statement from Amcrest regarding Dahua technology prohibition

Post by GaryOkie »

Here's an interesting security article from IPVM on this topic. It includes concerns about Amcrest products being sold to US governments through Amazon without full disclosure as to their source.

https://ipvm.com/reports/amazon-powers-hikua

IPVM refers to Amcrest, not as a subsidiary (as Lorex is), but as a "TX-based Dahua relabeler". That implies the products are identical except for the branding. While that is accurate from the hardware source, we've seen some significant divergence in the firmware, particularly in SmartHome vs Dahua IMOU products. But not so much in the IPC camera line.

In any case, the safest path is to block these devices from the Internet whenever possible.
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