Article

Keeping Data Under Lock and Key

BCDVideo looks at how you can protect yourself against cyber attacks
with its latest SMARTtechnology

In recent months, there has been a multitude of cyber-attacks targeting video surveillance systems and the Internet of Things (IoT). In the aftermath of the Mirai botnet attack, an incredibly powerful distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, some of the largest surveillance manufacturers scrambled to address the extreme vulnerabilities built into their devices.

During the October 2016 attack, Mirai, an open-source malware strain that scans the Internet for routers, cameras, DVRs, and IoT devices only protected by default passwords, used its army of infected devices to disrupt dozens of major websites including Dyn, one of the largest DNS service providers, by flooding the target servers with millions of discrete IP addresses sending junk traffic to block the flow of legitimate users. While DDoS attacks like Mirai, designed to cripple websites by consuming all of their bandwidth, target vulnerable devices across the world indiscriminately, several highly sensitive markets experienced the largest percentage of cyber attacks each year such as healthcare, manufacturing, financial services, government, and transportation.

The expansion of the IoT has only compounded the problem by providing hackers with almost unlimited resources for carrying out their attacks. As more devices connect to a single network, the total system security is only as strong as the most vulnerable connected device.

So, how can security professionals protect their system against these attacks?

Gaining access to your security system

Similar to any sensitive data, video surveillance represents an untapped pool of information. Consider the key users of surveillance and the data being stored – defense departments, embassies, hospitals, police departments etc., Beyond capturing metadata, by hacking into a video network, hackers will be able to view the camera footage, connect the infected device to a botnet, or even convert the device into a bitcoin mine undetected.

A single data breach cost businesses $4 million on average in 2016, according to the Ponemon Institute. With the costliest attacks coming from malicious code and denial of service. The role surveillance networks play in these attacks comes from the relatively low-security, commonly factory default passwords, many IP cameras, DVRs, and NVRs have to combat the malicious code needed to connect the device to a botnet. Once a surveillance device has been infected, it becomes a tool used to take down target servers.

After the latest wave of high-profile cyber attacks, updating default passwords on connected devices has taken first priority when securing a system. Security integrators and manufacturers are quickly adapting to the ever-changing cyber landscape, though. Proactive protection against cyber attacks is being implemented on many new, high-performance video servers.

BCDVideo SMARTtechnology

BCDVideo SMARTtechnology offers a single pane, simple monitoring solution. System administrators receive alerts for 32 system parameters for proactive troubleshooting on your video recorder or access control server all from within the performance panel. The exclusive SMARTtechnology includes:

    SMARTvault: It remotely restores the video software and camera settings to the last backup.

    SMARTrestoration: It restores a system to BCDVideo’s project optimized factory image.

    SMARTconnect: A trusted private and secure connection to a BCDVideo support technician. It provides technical access (when user approved) for remote diagnostics and troubleshooting.

    Intelligent hard drives within each system come with a predictive failure alert system and fault indicators to monitor and store data about the drive’s operational state. This allows for preventative onsite service calls and zero downtime before a drive fails.

To protect video surveillance systems from hackers, BCDVideo developed SMARTdeflect, an innovative two-factor authentication application designed specifically for BCDVideo access control and video recording servers. The two-factor login process includes a self-generating PIN randomly reassigned every 30 seconds.

System administrators will be able to monitor all logins with optional email notifications for every successful or unsuccessful login attempt. Because SMARTdeflect can be accessed on any smartphone, administrators also have the ability to temporarily disable all outside access to a server under attack. Additionally, the easy set-up and customizable system settings give administrators complete control over their servers

With cybercrime on the rise, providing simple, reliable security with BCDVideo SMARTtechnology on all BCDVideo access control and video recording servers gives security integrators and end users another measure of proactive defense against cyber-attacks.

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