Amazon, Flipkart review CCTV camera listings on selling platforms in India after report flags ‘security risk’

Two e-commerce giants, Amazon and Flipkart, have started reviewing security camera listings on their platforms in India after a report stated that third-party sellers and brands were selling hundreds of unlicensed products. The government had imposed strict testing rules for such products six months ago amid concerns over potential espionage risks.

The two e-commerce companies, which dominate online shopping in India, were reviewing internet-enabled surveillance cameras listed by third-party sellers, Reuters reported.

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A Reuters analysis this week found that more than 700 of roughly 770 internet security camera listings on Amazon and Flipkart were for models that were not listed in the Bureau of Indian Standards' public database of approved brands or cameras.

A cybersecurity expert said the sale of unlicensed security cameras was a serious concern and posed a potential security risk.

“A compromised camera can become both a surveillance risk and a cybersecurity entry point,” Gulshan Rai, who served as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cybersecurity chief from 2015 to 2019, told Reuters.

What does the government rule say about selling security cameras?

From April 1 this year, the government made it mandatory for all internet-connected CCTV cameras to obtain clearance under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology's Standardisation Testing and Quality Certification (STQC) framework.

Under the new guidelines, companies selling internet-connected CCTV cameras in India will have to disclose information about key equipment used in the cameras, including the origin of the system-on-chip (SoC) or processor.

The government brought in the new guidelines amid growing concerns that sensitive footage could be transferred abroad.

Since Tuesday, at least a dozen listings have been removed from the e-commerce platforms, including at least two models from Hikvision's EZVIZ brand. Amazon now shows those products as “currently unavailable”, Reuters reported.

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment about the listings. Amazon declined to comment in an email, while Flipkart did not respond to Reuters' queries.