Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Lorex Corporation and Lorex Technology Inc., accusing the companies of misleading consumers about serious security vulnerabilities in their home surveillance cameras.
Lorex products, sold at Costco and other major retailers in Nebraska, were previously owned by the company Dahua Technology. Dahua is one of 28 Chinese organizations blacklisted by the U.S. government in 2019 for it’s implication in China’s campaign targeting Uighurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities in the autonomous region of Xinjiang, according to the Commerce Department at the time.
Although Dahua sold Lorex to a Taiwanese holding company in 2022, Hilgers’ office says Lorex continues sourcing camera components from Dahua and maintaining ties to its systems. Under Chinese law, Dahua is required to provide data to the government for intelligence purposes. Hilgers says those flaws could allow hackers to access video and audio feeds, tap into home networks, and remotely alter device settings.
“Lorex’s relationship with Dahua is jeopardizing the privacy and security of Nebraska consumers and putting the most intimate areas of the home at risk of exploitation,” Hilgers said in a statement. “This kind of deceptive and dangerous conduct will not be tolerated in Nebraska under my watch.”
The lawsuit, filed under Nebraska’s Consumer Protection Act and Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act, seeks to bar Lorex from misleading customers, impose civil penalties, and recover fees.
The full complaint is available below.