Cybersecurity and Cloud Video Surveillance
Download the Eagle Eye Networks Cybersecurity Guide
Introduction
Video surveillance system security can and should be more fully addressed within the industry, so that cybersecurity is not left as a problem for system integrators, installers, or customers to solve. Eagle Eye Networks is a leader in this respect, mitigating security concerns starting with system design and extending to continuous cybersecurity management on the cloud. The Eagle Eye Cloud VMS (video management system) is designed to protect against system vulnerabilities and provides automatic system security updates via the cloud.
Video System Cyber Security
Computer and network security focus on protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CIA) of the networked systems and the data they contain. These three factors are paramount for video systems, given the potential for any camera’s recorded video to become critical legal evidence. Additionally, today’s video systems have become operationally important to many types of businesses, both for the instant oversight capability they provide and for the business insights enabled by a wide variety of video analytics. Anywhere, anytime availability of video via mobile devices is a basic business expectation these days.
However, for most video systems, Internet connectivity puts confidentiality, integrity, and availability at risk because most systems don’t have built-in protection against cyber attacks. Thus, many video systems are defenseless against cyber attacks, even though the continuing escalation of such attacks makes it more important than ever for video systems to be cyber secure.
General-Purpose vs. Purpose-Built Equipment
Traditionally, networked video management systems were built from general-purpose computers, network switches, routers and firewalls that require a significant amount of highly technical configuration to operate as a cyber-secure system. Leading manufacturers provide system or device hardening guides about how to set up appropriate cyber security controls. Even then, security hardening remains an ongoing project that requires continuing attention and updating, as products are improved and as new cyber threats emerge.
Configuring a secure VMS from general-purpose equipment is a lot to ask of video system installers and customers, especially because it’s not necessary. Manufacturers of purpose-built video surveillance products can and should provide security pre-configured systems because they designed and built the equipment and wrote the software that needs to be hardened. Furthermore, a cloud-based video surveillance system, provided as a service, can and should include the continuing attention and updating that effective cyber security protection requires.
The remainder of this paper explains how Eagle Eye Networks addresses cyber security protection and simplifies video system deployments using purpose-built design.