The FCC ban on Chinese surveillance equipment went into effect in 2022. This restricts schools and certain government buildings from using or purchasing surveillance equipment from certain Chinese manufacturers that it deems to pose a threat to national security. But many of these organizations are still using this equipment for various reasons including, funding problems, a lack of knowledge regarding the security camera industry and where branded equipment is actually manufactured. These issues are just now slowly being addressed by the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program.
Soon various security companies will be receiving a slice of 1 billion dollars over the next four years from the cyber security arm of U.S Department of Homeland Security. This money will filter down through state, local, and territorial governments across the country. The money is intended to identify threats and strengthen cybersecurity in our government buildings and organizations. Much of this money will be used for addressing computer and software related threats. But due to the FCC ban a portion of this money is guaranteed to end up in the hands of security camera companies. One such company that is set to benefit from these government grants is Triton Global Services.
Triton Global Services is a privately owned security firm headquartered in California that offers various security services including surveillance cameras. Triton recently announced in a press release that it will be partnering with “California state and local government agencies, including schools, in procuring equipment replacements for People’s Republic of China government affiliated branded cameras such as Dahua, Hikvision, Hytera, ZTE, and Huawei per the ban passed as part of the National Defense Authorization Act.” (PRNEWSWIRE) This means a portion of this money will then be passed to security camera companies when Triton begins purchasing and installing these replacements. But which camera companies will be the ultimate recipients?
According to their website Triton sells various different brands of surveillance cameras. Some include Alibi, Axis, and GeoVision. Which begins to illustrate why so many schools and government agencies are confused about what to buy. You see Alibi for instance doesn’t actually make security cameras. They purchase the cameras from a manufacturer in China called UniView and brand them as Alibi. UniView has complied with the NDAA to continue to sell products in the U.S. but ultimately, they are still a Chinese company. We do not currently know what brand or manufacturer of surveillance equipment Triton will ultimately end up purchasing but the options for U.S. made cameras are extremely small. There are only a handful of companies that can claim to be manufactured in the U.S. including Avigilon and Costar Technologies.
Regardless of what brand of camera or manufacturer, it is certain that many companies in the surveillance industry will be benefiting from this program. Over the next 3 years we will see millions of cameras ripped out of government buildings and replaced with compliant versions. In addition, the grant program will also address more traditional cybersecurity concerns in regard to network equipment, government websites and databases which is likely where the majority of the 1 billion will go. But thanks to the FCC ban the surveillance camera industry is guaranteed to receive a slice of the pie.