Monochrome (B/W) CCTV cameras

As technology advances, the world is becoming increasingly connected, changing the way users think about and interact with security systems, which continue to evolve across all verticals and applications. With this change comes new opportunity for security integrators; security systems are advancing, creating new needs for products and services — some of which can be met through the adoption of cloud-based service systems. Cloud technology is no longer a dreamt-up version of the future of security — it’s here. If you’re hesitant to make the move to the cloud, consider these six reasons to embrace this new technology now.Cloud technology has created an opportunity for integrators to offer managed services to their customers Increased RMR Cloud technology has created an opportunity for integrators to offer managed services to their customers, producing a new business model that generates more stable and predictable income streams. By offering managed services on a subscription basis, integrators can build a part of their business to provide recurring monthly revenue (RMR), allowing them to scale faster. This business model is especially beneficial for customers who prefer to pay a fixed monthly or yearly rate for services rather than a large upfront fee, which can help attract new business while growing revenue from current customers. Stickier customers Providing managed services fosters a more involved relationship between integrators and their customers, which can help boost customer retention. This is primarily the result of three factors. Firstly, customers who buy managed services are committed for a specified term, which helps develop an ongoing business relationship between them and the integrator. Secondly, providing managed services creates an opportunity for more customer contact — each interaction is an opportunity to build rapport and monitor customer satisfaction.While the functionalities of each system vary, their potential is evident in the cloud-based services available Third, customers who purchase managed services generally tend to do business longer than customers who purchase products or services individually; with the monthly purchase of their services on autopilot, customers get into the habit of receiving these services, which helps reduce the chance that they’ll cancel their subscription while also building customer loyalty. High gross profit margins Cloud managed services create an opportunity for a service and technology to be purchased together, helping to generate a higher gross profit margin from the beginning of the customer relationship. On an ongoing basis, cloud service platforms offer a new level of accessibility to integrators, helping to provide better insight on activity trends to identify opportunities to continuously grow their revenue through subscription-based streams. Easier to provide managed services Traditionally, serving more sites required integrators to hire more technicians to meet the needs of their growing customer base, but the cloud has helped overcome this demand. While the functionalities of each system vary, their potential is evident in the cloud-based service platforms that are available today. When a problem occurs on a site that is managed by a cloud-based system, the integrator can receive a real-time notification regarding the issue The Avigilon Blue™ platform, for example, is a powerful new cloud service platform that helps integrators address the needs of their customer sites using fewer resources by offering the ability to administer system upgrades, fixes, health checks, and camera or system settings adjustments remotely.  The Avigilon Blue platform automatically sends, and stores video analytics highlights in the cloud, which can easily be accessed from any PC browser or mobile device. This data can be used to efficiently manage customer sites and maintain the health of those sites, helping to increase speed of service and expand the capacity to have more sites up and running. Cloud service platforms have the potential to revolutionise the security industry by providing new opportunities for integrators Not only does this help integrators scale their business faster, it creates an opportunity to provide added value to the customer at a lower cost as new upgrades and services come out. Proactively fix problems before they occur In addition to automating notifications and tedious maintenance tasks, cloud service platforms help provide integrators with the information and abilities they need to keep their customer sites running smoothly. When a problem occurs on a site that is managed by a cloud-based system, the integrator can receive a real-time notification regarding the issue — possibly before the customer even notices a disruption in service. They can then identify the problem and determine whether it can be resolved remotely or requires a technician to be deployed. By having the capacity to pinpoint service needs and make certain adjustments via the cloud, integrators can streamline their customer service processes and lower their response times to provide better, more efficient service. Increased valuation of business Companies that utilise cloud technologies are experiencing as much as 53 percent higher revenue growth rates The ability of cloud service platforms to help integrators manage more sites remotely and expand their revenue through subscription-based streams offers a competitive business advantage. Security innovators have harnessed the power of the cloud to enhance integrator efficiency so that they can spare their attention, resources and effort for where it’s needed most. As a service that helps offer scalability and a high gross profit margin while requiring fewer resources to maintain customer sites, cloud service platforms have the potential to revolutionise the security industry by providing new opportunities for integrators that may ultimately increase their business valuation. According to a study by Dell, companies that utilise cloud, mobility, and security technologies are experiencing as much as 53 percent higher revenue growth rates compared to those who do not such technologies. Integrators who adopt cloud service platforms can benefit from numerous advantages — cost-saving maintenance capabilities, the potential to generate new monthly recurring revenue, and user-friendly design and data security — which make them a significant development within the industry as well as a potential lucrative new business model. The dream of cloud technology is no longer a distant idea of the future, it can become a present reality — and integrators who harness its power can reap its business benefits now.

There’s no denying that cyber-crime is one of the biggest threats facing any organisation with the devastating results they can cause painfully explicit. Highly publicised cases stretching from the US government to digital giant Facebook has made tackling cyber security a necessity for all major organisations. The consequences of breaches have just become more severe, with new GDPR rules meaning any security breach, and resultant data loss, could cost your organisation a fine of up to four per cent of global revenue or up to 20 million euros. Cyber-crime potentially affects every connected network device. In the biggest cyber-crime to date, hackers stole $1 billion from banks around the world, by gaining access to security systems. It’s more important than ever for organisations to be vigilant when it comes to their cyber security strategy. To help avoid becoming the next victim, I’ve put together a five-point cyber plan to protect your video surveillance system. 1. Elimination of default passwords A small change to a memorable, complex password could have huge consequences for your business It is estimated that over 73,000 security cameras are available to view online right now due to default passwords. ‘Password’ and ‘123456’ are among the top five most popular passwords with a staggering 9,000,000 login details matching this description. Guessable passwords create an unsecure security system which can result in an easy way for hackers to gain access to your organisation’s data, making you vulnerable to a breach. A small change to a memorable, complex password could have huge consequences for your business. Removing default passwords from products and software forces individuals to think of their own to keep their data safe. If a password system is not provided by your organisation we recommend that your password uses two or more types of characters (letters, numbers, symbols) and it is changed periodically. 2. Encrypted firmware Encrypting firmware is an important part of any organisations overall security system. Firmware can leave an open door, allowing hackers to access your data. All firmware should be encrypted to reduce the possibilities of it being downloaded from the manufacturers website and deconstructed. If the firmware posted is not encrypted, there is a risk of it being analysed by persons with malicious intent, vulnerabilities being detected, and attacks being made. With i-PRO cameras and recorders, all firmware is securely encrypted to mitigate analysis There have been cases where a device is attacked by firmware vulnerabilities even if there are no problems with the user's settings, rendering it inoperable, and DDoS attacks being made on other servers via the device. With i-PRO cameras and recorders, all firmware is securely encrypted to mitigate analysis. There is also a possibility of being attracted to spoofing sites by targeted attack email and firmware being updated with a version that includes a virus, so firmware must always be downloaded from the vendor's page. It may also be advantageous to combine this with an imbedded Linux operating system which removes all unused features of the device, it can help to reduce the chances of malicious entities searching for backdoor entities and inserting codes. 3. Removing vulnerabilities within the operating systems Vulnerability is the name given for a functional behaviour of a product or online service that violates an implicit or explicit security policy. Vulnerabilities can occur for a number of reasons for example, due to an omission in logic, coding errors or a process failure. Network attacks exploit vulnerabilities in software coding that maybe unknown to you and the equipment provider. The vulnerability can be exploited by hackers before the vendor becomes aware. You should seek to minimise these issues by looking for a secure operating system which is regularly updated. Panasonic has developed Secure Communications, a platform and package to protect against video tampering, altering, spoofing and snooping As a provider of security solutions, Panasonic is taking a number of steps to ensure its consumers remain safe and secure. We have developed Secure Communications, a platform and package to protect against video tampering, altering, spoofing and snooping. We have combined with a leading provider of highly reliable certificates and technology for detecting and analysing cyber-attacks with its own in-house embedded cryptography technology, to provide a highly secure and robust protection layer for its embedded surveillance products. 4. Avoiding remote login using Telnet or FTP Telnet and FTP are a very outdated source of software which as a result means they lack built-in security measures Telnet and FTP are a very outdated source of software which as a result means they lack built-in security measures. File transfer protocol or transfer through cloud-based services means the files and passwords are not encrypted and can therefore be easily intercepted by hackers. An encrypted software removes the risk of files being sent to the wrong person or forwarded on without your knowledge. Telnet predates FTP and as a result is even less secure. Hyper Transfer Protocol Secure is a protocol to make secure communications by HTTP, and it makes HTTP communications on secure connections provided by SSL/TLS protocols. The major benefits of using this system is that HTTPS and VPN encrypt the communications path, so data after communications is decrypted and recorded. If recorded data is leaked, it will be in a state where it can be viewed. With data encryption, however, it remains secure and can even be recoded to storage. Thus, even if the hard drive or SD card is stolen or data on the cloud is leaked, data cannot be viewed. 5. Use of digital certificates Private and public keys are generated at manufacture in the factory and certificates installed at the factoryDigital certificates are intended to safely store the public key and the owner information of the private key it is paired with. It provides assurance that the accredited data from a third party is true and that the data is not falsified. It is beneficial for all data to be encrypted with digital certificates. Digital certificates are far safer when issued by a third party rather than creating a self-signed version unless you are 100 percent sure of the receiver identity. From April 2016, some models of Panasonic series iPro cameras come with preinstalled certificates to reduce the risk of interception and the hassle of having to create one. With i-PRO cameras with Secure function, private and public keys are generated at manufacture in the factory and certificates installed at the factory. As there is no way to obtain the private key from the camera externally, there is no risk of the private key being leaked. Also, certificates are signed by a trusted third party, and the private key used for signing is managed strictly by the authority. In addition, encryption has been cleverly implemented to reduce the usual overhead on the IP stream from 20% to 2%.

By 2020, video surveillance using fixed, body and mobile cameras is expected to capture an astounding 859 PB of video daily. Increasing retention regulations and higher resolution cameras, are forcing the video surveillance industry to reassess its approach to data storage. Large capacity primary storage tends to be expensive to procure and costly to implement – especially without a sound architecture that can balance storage performance levels with the speed of access needed to recall video footage. Active archive strategy These challenges are thrusting storage tiers to the forefront of system design. Storage tiers in video surveillance had previously meant simply using a separate archive or attaching add-on capacity directly to network video recorders. Many of the new storage options designed for video surveillance are pulling together different storage tiers into a single storage architecture Many of the new storage options designed for video surveillance are pulling together different storage tiers (and in some cases storage media) into a single storage architecture, such as an active archive solution. This balance can be achieved with an active archive strategy that automates migration of data between different storage types, to ensure the data is on the correct storage type at the correct time to meet performance and retention requirements without blowing the budget. This approach also ensures ease of access while automatically moving content from more expensive tiers of storage to more cost-effective long-term tiers of storage. This allows for greater efficiencies in how recorded footage is treated throughout its lifecycle. In some cases, it includes moving data from edge devices to centralised storage, and then to the public cloud. Scalable video storage solutions As storage demands have increased, video management vendors have turned to storage specialists for solutions that can accommodate large numbers of high-resolution video files, metadata associated with the footage for easy searching, along with much needed scalable solutions. In terms of video management software, this means the integration of video content from different storage types, tiers and physical locations is required, and which considers the performance profile of each storage type. With an active archive solution, video content is searchable and accessible directly by the end users regardless of where it is stored. Deploying an active archive solution enables surveillance users to reduce the complexity and costs of managing data for long term retention As seen in many product categories, camera and storage vendors continue to provide extremely competitive offerings. But, storage-specific solutions for video surveillance have lagged behind the roadmaps for video equipment and, as more and more cameras have entered the market, less attention has been placed on video storage capacities. Tiered storage strategy The surveillance industry has evolved considerably from the days of the 8mm video recorder; however, enterprise storage solutions will be forced to evolve further to cope with changing storage retention requirements. Video storage is quickly becoming one of the most expensive parts in a surveillance solution, but there is hope. Deploying an active archive solution will enable surveillance users to reduce the complexity and costs of managing from terabytes to petabytes of data for long term retention. By finding a storage solution that delivers the ability to implement a tiered storage strategy, users can adhere to regulation requirements to retain video footage and meet their safety and security objectives, while also significantly reducing storage costs and operational expenses.