Why surveillance cameras belong on a separate network
An IP camera on the same network as the computers and open to the internet is one of the most common security gaps in companies.
Saurus Group
IP cameras are small computers with their own operating system. Many ship with default passwords and rarely get updates. If they sit on the same network as the staff computers or are directly reachable from the internet, they become the easiest way into a company’s systems.
What can happen
- Someone outside watches the footage of your premises.
- The camera becomes part of a botnet and is used to attack others.
- An attacker reaches the computers and servers on the same network through the camera.
How to fix it
- A separate network (VLAN) for the cameras and the recorder. The cameras can talk only to the recorder, not to the computers.
- No ports open to the internet. Viewing from a phone goes through a VPN or a protected connection, not a forwarded port.
- Changed passwords and updated firmware. Every camera gets a unique password.
- Backup power. A UPS for the recorder and the switch, so surveillance keeps working during a power cut.
We plan and install surveillance systems according to these rules – see Video surveillance and security systems and Network infrastructure.
