5 Steps to Cyber-Secure Your CCTV and Access Control
CCTV cameras, card readers and intercoms are now full network devices. Left on default settings, they can become the easiest way into a building's network. Here are five steps we apply on our projects:
- Strong, unique passwords per device, and individual user accounts with role-based permissions.
- Regular firmware updates, from the manufacturer's official sources only.
- Network segregation: security systems on their own VLAN, never exposed directly to the internet, with remote access through VPN only.
- Hardening: unused services and ports disabled; encrypted protocols such as HTTPS, and OSDP Secure Channel for readers instead of Wiegand.
- Time sync and records: NTP, logging with regular reviews, and full configuration documentation handed to the client at handover.
Physical security and cybersecurity are now one project, and they should be planned at the design stage, not after go-live.
Want a review of your existing security systems? Contact our team.