Watchdog closes recommendations on GSA’s purchase of Chinese-made cameras

The General Services Administration has taken action to address Chinese-made videoconference cameras with security vulnerabilities, the agency’s Office of the Inspector General said in a Tuesday report.

In 2024, the GSA OIG reported that the agency purchased and used Chinese-manufactured videoconference cameras, now identified as from Owl Labs, that had “known security vulnerabilities” and did not comply with the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (TAA).

“GSA [Office of Digital Infrastructure Technologies] employees misled a contracting officer with egregiously flawed information to acquire 150 Chinese-made, TAA-noncompliant videoconference cameras,” the 2024 report said.

The OIG recommended four action items for the GSA in its original report, including to “return, or otherwise dispose of, previously purchased TAA-noncompliant cameras.” The agency partially concurred with that recommendation, stating that a subset of cameras that did not meet GSA standards was discontinued and that it is “confident that the use of the detailed video conference cameras are secure under our current security protocols.”

Tuesday’s report contained the corrective action plan with goals to be completed throughout 2024, including training for acquisition employees, disposing of first-generation cameras and updating the software of other cameras.

“Our implementation review determined that GSA has taken appropriate corrective actions to address the recommendations,” it said. “We determined that no further action is necessary.”