Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird has sued video surveillance company ADI Global Distribution, accusing the company of failing to disclose that cameras it sold were manufactured by two Chinese companies on a U.S. list of foreign entities that pose national security risks, as a national security expert warned the devices could expose sensitive information to China.
Bird announced the lawsuit against ADI Global Distribution Inc., commonly known as ADI, on Wednesday. The lawsuit alleges ADI concealed that cameras it sold were manufactured in China by Hikvision and Dahua, two companies with close ties to the Chinese military that are on a U.S. list of foreign entities posing national security risks.
The lawsuit is the second in a series of actions Bird has taken this week against China-aligned entities.
According to Bird’s office, ADI sold cameras manufactured by Hikvision and Dahua for years and at times changed the labels on the cameras. Bird’s office said the products did not include statements or disclaimers informing consumers about security concerns or their manufacturers’ presence on U.S. government lists.
ADI markets video surveillance and smart-home products for homes, offices, educational and healthcare facilities, entertainment venues, and other locations. Its website says the company helps keep communities “safe, secure, comfortable and connected” and assures customers that “[a]ll data remains within the client’s local network.”
Bird’s office contends consumers were not adequately informed about vulnerabilities associated with the cameras.
The Federal Communications Commission has said telecommunications and surveillance equipment made by Hikvision and Dahua presents a threat to American users because “they are vulnerable to spying from hackers and information requests from the People’s Republic of China’s intelligence entities.”
Chinese law requires companies in the country to provide data to the Chinese government at the government’s discretion, while cameras made by Hikvision and Dahua are also at heightened risk of Chinese hacking.
Bird is bringing the lawsuit under the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act and is seeking relief for Iowa consumers as well as an end to what her office describes as deceptive representations concerning the security of consumers’ sensitive information.
“Iowans use video surveillance cameras to protect themselves, but these cameras are doing exactly the opposite,” Bird said.
She continued:
These China-made cameras are making Iowans’ private information—everything from where each room is in your home, who lives there, your routine, and even passwords—available to the Chinese government and military. The deception needs to stop; companies aligned with China will be held accountable to Iowa’s law.
Michael Lucci, founder and CEO of State Armor, a national security nonprofit focused on curbing Chinese influence in the United States, has warned for years about security risks involving Hikvision and Dahua cameras.
“The CCP has made clear that it views Americans’ data as a strategic asset. That’s why it is so concerning that ADI Global Distribution – which recently assumed Resideo Technologies Inc.’s home security and smart home assets – has failed to disclose its Chinese ties while marketing its products as secure. Consumers deserve to know whether the devices they bring into their homes could provide a backdoor for China to access sensitive information or facilitate surveillance. Security starts with transparency, and Americans have a right to know who is behind the products they buy,” Lucci said in a statement provided to Breitbart News. “I applaud Attorney General Bird for holding ADI accountable and fighting to protect Americans from hidden foreign influence, surveillance, and threats to their personal data.”
Lucci wrote in a September 30, 2025, op-ed for the Daily Caller that Chinese surveillance cameras could give China’s military access to the networks to which they are connected, including systems tied to American critical infrastructure. He said tens of thousands of the cameras are connected to critical infrastructure and transmitting data to overseas servers controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. Lucci noted that although the FCC stopped authorizing Dahua and Hikvision cameras in 2022, their presence on U.S. critical infrastructure increased 40 percent from 2023 to 2024, and he cited a Department of Homeland Security bulletin describing how the cameras can be relabeled and sold without consumers being informed of the risks.
Lucci pointed to actions by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers against Lorex Technologies and argued that other state attorneys general should pursue similar actions involving Chinese manufacturers, relabelers, and retailers. He also cited congressional testimony that China seeks to “pre-position themselves on U.S. critical infrastructure networks for disruptive or destructive cyber-attacks,” as well as findings by investigators of hacked Hikvision feeds labeled “kids room,” “bedroom of a young girl,” and “gynecological office” being sold on the dark web. “Americans are learning the hard way that nothing is more expensive to our national security than a cheap Chinese product,” Lucci wrote.
In March, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) called for a formal investigation of Chinese electronics company Anker Innovations and its Eufy home-security products, citing security vulnerabilities and potential national security risks. The lawmakers pointed to a $450,000 settlement paid by Eufy distributors in New York in 2025 over camera-security concerns and noted that Anker and its subsidiaries are subject to China’s National Intelligence Law of 2017, which requires cooperation with state intelligence efforts upon request. They also raised concerns that Eufy devices can transmit audio, video, and metadata over the Internet and asked the Commerce Department and FCC to examine Anker’s ownership structure, data practices, and whether information from its devices can be transmitted to servers in China.