NVR (network video recorder) security systems are hacked frequently, and yet people continue to use them for their companies. Since many businesses use VPNs, open ports, and other means to access their NVR remotely, this opens up companies to a host of cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
To manage these risks, some businesses opt to choose cloud-based video security systems instead of outdated NVRs.
How hackers exploit NVRs
These vulnerabilities can wreak havoc on small businesses and larger enterprises, because of the control that hackers gain when they infiltrate your company’s surveillance network. For example, when hackers used Peekaboo to exploit Nuvo-based surveillance cameras in 2018, the compromise reverberated across “hundreds of thousands of devices,” according to ZDNet.
Once hijacked, hackers were able to access and interfere with security footage, and were also able to steal vital business credentials, including IPs and ports. When this information falls into the wrong hands, it can be incredibly damaging, which is why it can be valuable to use a cloud-based surveillance system instead.
Multiple points of encryption
One major strength of a cloud-based surveillance system is how encryption is built into many aspects of its architecture.
The surveillance system company Verkada, for example, uses encryption when its video security systems are in operation or just resting. This end-to-end approach means that your surveillance system remains secure at all times, and that type of protection carries over to how your video is stored too.
Regardless of whether video is stored on the camera’s hard drive or backed up on the cloud, footage is always encrypted using the latest standards in cybersecurity. This makes it harder for hackers to compromise your data, since even if your footage falls into the wrong hands, it is still encrypted and unable to be accessed.
Better user management
Robust user management is another reason to choose a cloud-based surveillance system over NVRs if you want to deter hackers. In addition to using cameras with connections through only outbound ports, Verkada’s command center offers system administrators a powerful suite of tools for managing individual user’s permissions.
Tools like these can ensure that users aren’t accessing your system after work hours unless in emergencies, so you know a breach won’t occur when your company isn’t ready to respond to an attack. These tools can also only allow certain functionalities based on particular user roles. Doing this makes it harder for one hacked user to wind up compromising an entire system, as permissions can be adjusted quickly to shut out a bad actor.
They can also be adjusted so that only a few trusted individuals have high-level control over your surveillance system — a choice that pairs nicely with a well-documented approach to cybersecurity education in your office.
Up-to-date on time
One final way that a cloud-based surveillance system can prevent hackers from accessing and hijacking your security system is by providing updates frequently. This automatic approach to updating your security platform’s firmware and software pays major dividends by ensuring that critical updates are delivered as they are released.
On older NVRs, you may be tempted to skip an update every now and then, which leaves your system vulnerable to becoming hacked. With a cloud-based approach, you don’t need to rely on another individual to perform this routine maintenance. You can rest assured that critical updates are being handled in an appropriate amount of time.
Overall, NVRs and other approaches to surveillance security that don’t utilize the cloud are opening your business up to major security threats. By using a cloud-based approach that updates frequently and has layered encryption and user management, you can deter hackers and have a more secure system.
Image credit: Surveillance System via Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock
