Taiwan agencies used Chinese biometric devices, legislator alleges
A Taiwan legislator alleged that several government agencies purchased facial and fingerprint recognition devices using rebranded Chinese products from ZKTeco, posing potential risks to civil servants' biometric data and national security. The Customs Administration responded by suspending use of the disputed equipment.
What happened
Democratic Progressive Party legislator Lin Jun-xian held a press conference on July 15 to allege that the Police Administration Bureau, Customs Administration, Coast Guard Administration, and CPC Corporation Taiwan purchased facial and fingerprint recognition devices that allegedly used Chinese products from ZKTeco, a Chinese company.
Lin alleged that a Taiwan-based supplier had rebranded ZKTeco products as its own, securing 16 contracts over 10 years. Lin stated that comparing biometric equipment in use by the Police Administration Bureau showed appearance consistency with both the Taiwan supplier and ZKTeco products, and that product manuals contained large amounts of Chinese terminology allegedly converted from simplified to traditional Chinese.
Lin stated that the product manufacturer was registered as Armatura with Taiwan's National Communications Commission, and that ZKTeco's public offering documents identified Armatura as its wholly-owned overseas subsidiary, described as a third-country mainland Chinese company.
Reported impact
Lin alleged that civil servants' biometric data could leak, creating a national security and information security risk.
Lin stated that the devices involved in government procurement violated contract terms prohibiting Chinese-manufactured products and mainland Chinese suppliers.
Index analysis
Lin noted that government agencies applied inconsistent standards in determining whether biometric devices qualified as sensitive or national security concerns, with the Police Administration Bureau classifying them as sensitive procurement while other agencies did not.
Lin stated that the Executive Yuan had issued a general notice in 2020 prohibiting government agencies from using Chinese brands in information and communication technology products, but alleged that relevant agencies failed to implement this policy.
Governance controls
The Customs Administration responded on July 15 that it would immediately suspend the use of some attendance management equipment after confirming that its Taipei and Kaohsiung offices had purchased attendance management devices from the supplier in question. The Customs Administration stated the devices operated in closed systems without external network connections and posed no risk of personal data leakage.
The Customs Administration stated it would strictly enforce information security controls and would follow information service procurement contract templates requiring that suppliers not provide or use Chinese mainland brands in information and communication technology products and services.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.