2023-09-16 08:45:21
Many Belgian companies have installed videoconferencing systems from the Chinese brand Yealink during the covid crisis, while this equipment raises serious security questions. Colruyt, Ontex and Fluvius, among others, have confirmed this. Proximus offers its business customers Yealink landline telephones for the professional management of their calls. Among public administrations, the National Crisis Center at least appears to have owned Yealink products until recently, and the City of Brussels also uses at least hundreds of the brand’s devices.
Belgian State Security warns these entities. “According to open sources, Yealink does indeed present certain technical security risks,” says Peter Gorlé, spokesperson for State Security. “In addition, Yealink is subject to Chinese laws regarding Chinese government access to data collected by domestic companies.”
In addition to the risk of espionage from China, several cybersecurity experts point to security flaws in Yealink devices. “It is in any case not very smart for a public administration or a large company to use material coming from third countries, or even hostile ones,” observes Belgian cryptographer Bart Preneel (KU Leuven).
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