It has been found that core components of the video conferencing system used by the South Korean Army for operational meetings and command and control during both wartime and peacetime are Chinese-made.
Given that security vulnerabilities were previously discovered in Chinese-made CCTV cameras used by the Army, leading to the complete removal of some 1,300 units, concerns are once again being raised over the security of the military's command and communication networks.
According to the office of Representative Lim Chong-deuk of the People Power Party, who serves on the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly, the Army introduced new equipment to 86 subordinate units last year to replace aging video conferencing gear.
However, it was found that two types of codecs—core components that convert video and audio signals into digital format for transmission among the 11 items making up the equipment—are Chinese products.
One of them is the MeetingEye 500 produced by Yealink, a video conferencing equipment company headquartered in Shenzhen, China.
The U.S. military specialty media outlet Defense One previously pointed out that Yealink's terms of service include provisions allowing for the active monitoring of users when necessary for China's national interests.
Amid growing security concerns, some U.S. state governments banned the use of Yealink products in 2024.
The Army's video conferencing system is used for operational meetings and command and control, and is also connected to the pan-military video conferencing network, allowing major military information to be exchanged during both wartime and peacetime.
This is not the first time security issues regarding Chinese-made equipment have surfaced in the Army.
In 2020, it was confirmed that an IP address of a server in China with a history of distributing malicious code had been set up in some 1,300 Chinese-made CCTV cameras installed in the Army's coastal and riverine surveillance systems.
Vulnerabilities allowing video information to be stored externally or accessed remotely were also discovered, prompting the Army to remove all of the equipment at the time.
Similar security issues have occurred overseas as well; the UK's Telegraph reported that Chinese-made cameras installed on unmanned surface vessels operated by the British Royal Marines were found to have illicitly transmitted unit operation data to a Chinese IP address.
The Army maintains that no security issues have been found with the Chinese-made codecs in question.
As a result of security inspections conducted by the Defense Counterintelligence Command and the Cyber Operations Command, no unusual findings were identified, and multi-layered security measures have been established by applying separate dedicated networks, cryptographic equipment, and cybersecurity equipment, the Army explained.
Reported by Kim Minjeong | Video by Ahn Jun-hyeok | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
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