How Safe is Your Network CCTV Video?

Over the last few years we have seen many New products enter the Physical Security markets to bring convergence. In many cases the same manufacturers that made analogue systems are now either via acquisition or hire churning out product to connect to your existing network. OK, so we all understand the digital is the way to go. However, what many don't understand is that they are leaving their systems wide open to hackers and potential thieves.
In the last few weeks we have been working with a first rate company in the UK who showed us some really wild stuff. In many cases the manufacturers of these network attached devices don't take into consideration the actually network security features of their products. It's not intentional they just don't realize the capability of the hacker and the many tool that are freely available on the Internet to assist them in hacking IP cameras, DVR's, NVR's etc.
The security of hardware and embedded systems is often taken for granted. New technologies have exposed the previously closed hardware layers and directed attacks towards the embedded firmware that exists in physical network security devices. The company we met with provides a specialist service in two areas. They provide device testing and they can also as sit with code reviews. OK so what did I learn...
Two type so testing are available. Black Box Testing and Grey Box Testing.
Black Box Testing is Really about identifying in the vulnerabilities of the device that can be exploited in an operational environment.
Grey Box Testing includes the above plus testing with additional application information sources (such as source code and internal design documentation).

Now device testing can covers these areas.

• Physical Attacks
• Side Channel Attacks
• Extraction and Reverse Engineering of Software
• Device Modification through firmware and device update/boot loader functionality
• Bypass or removal of device protection
• Identification and exploitation of buffer overflows
• Admin Interface Hacking
• Data Extraction
• Data Tampering
• Protocol fuzzing

So did they scare us. No not really. What scared us was when we went to Google and typed in "Hacking of Network CCTV Systems" we ended up trawling site after site with instruction on how to log into restricted sites. One site even listed five cameras within the BBC but the link had obviously now been closed. We looked at an Airport in Canada, Several cameras in a City centre system in Scotland. The list is endless. If you are a manufacturer of anything in the physical security space that is going to get hooked up any network you really need to get your equipment checked out by a team of professionals. If anyone wants details of these guys please let me know. They impressed me not only with their capability but also with their understanding.
Drop me a mail or comment and I will send you the contact details directly. I don't want to post them here for obvious reasons.