The New York Daily News received information that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) implemented a pilot program to install camera surveillance systems in subway cars last week, and after the newspaper’s investigation, it was discovered that the camera supplier providing the surveillance system technology is a Chinese company specializing in face recognition technology, and the company has close ties with the Chinese government. The MTA then suspended the pilot program on the 22nd.
Last Thursday (15), the cameras began monitoring passengers on G Line trains, and MTA managers sent a memo to subway employees reminding them that new video cameras had been installed on four G Line trains. The memo noted that the pilot program installed surveillance systems with four video cameras, an electronic signage board and intercoms on each car, and that the MTA’s goal in implementing the year-long program was to improve subway safety and test the operation of the surveillance systems.
Supplier has close ties to Chinese government
The camera supplier providing the technology for the surveillance system is the Chinese company “Suzhou Huaqi Intelligent Technology” (Suzhou Huaqi), which raises questions about information security.
Suzhou Huaqi was acquired in the first quarter of 2019 by Bii Railway Transportation Technology, which has close ties to the Chinese government. In its 2019 annual report, Bii Railway Transportation Technology highlights the company’s face recognition technology.
The New York Daily News reported that MTA officials explained that they signed an agreement with Suzhou Huaji in January 2019, before the acquisition of Suzhou Huaji by Jingtou Transportation Technology was completed, and that the one-year pilot program was not charged to the MTA and did not have to be approved by the MTA board.
MTA Clarification
MTA spokesman Ken Lovett responded that MTA executives became aware of the program when the news media began asking questions about Capital Transport Technology, “a short-term test and evaluation program designed to determine whether the equipment meets the needs of the New York City Transit Authority (NYCT) and qualifies as a potential future system. possible system purchase…When executives noticed the pilot program and questioned the company’s control, evaluation of the program was halted.”
It is unclear whether the cameras use face recognition technology from the Chinese company, but MTA Chairman Pat Foye said at a press conference Wednesday (21) that none of the subway cameras use face recognition technology; MTA officials said the current cameras at subway stations and platforms use different technology than the pilot program.
Federal government sources told the New York Daily News that the MTA’s pilot program could continue to grow and that the National Security Agency (NSA) would warn.
In the past two years, MTA officials have installed a large number of cameras in subway stations and platforms and plan to complete deployment by the end of the year, but the plan to install cameras in subway cars has no clear timetable, only that all future subway cars are to be equipped with cameras.
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), passed by Congress and former President Trump in 2019, prohibits transit agencies from using federal funds to purchase Chinese-made bus cars and subway trains, such as those made by China’s state-owned China Railway Corporation (CRRC); however, this law will not take effect until 2022, and it is reported that the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has begun testing a series of subway cars purchased from CRRC this week. The CTA has reportedly begun testing a series of subway cars purchased from the company this week.
New York Governor Cuomo launched the MTA Genius Transit Challenge in 2017, and Chinese state-owned company CNR won the competition with a $50 million proposal to design WiFi-equipped subway cars for the New York subway. The top prize.
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