The sneak survey found that two in five people on social networking site Facebook were willing to give out personal information, such as email addresses, birthdays, phone numbers and some even their entire CV! 41 per cent of users confirmed Freddi as a friend, so giving him access to their personal data.
This light-hearted take on internet security got me thinking about the security of IP security systems, which are increasingly being installed on major sites. Personally, I think that many of the more apocalyptic predictions about the vulnerability of IP systems are just scaremongering. After all, banks and other financial institutions have been using data networks- on which many current systems are based- for at least 25 years, with few mishaps. And many high security sites- for example, utilities, military bases and the aforementioned financial institutions- are now opting for networked security systems.
One of the latest examples is one of Europe’s biggest hydroelectric power stations, where Bosch is supplying a complete IP video surveillance system to seven power stations in Germany’s Thuringen region. The video system is integrated with intrusion and fire detection and alarm systems. Connected by a wireless area network, the furthest camera is some 217 kilometres from the control centre. So the message is the technology is secure, so long as it is properly designed and installed, and that the appropriate security levels- be they firewalls, Virtual Private Networks or authentication protocols- are put into place and regularly reviewed.
Crash and burn?
Of course, the security of data on a networked system is closely related to its resilience. Another popular myth about IP is this: “I know how often my PC crashes every working day- I wouldn’t trust a system based on that to handle my security surveillance data!” The answer to that statement is to design and build a system that features multi-layer resilience, so that even in case of failure, there is always built-in redundancy to ensure the system is “always on”. As Tim Giles of Nice Systems explains in his article on Resilience and Reliability: “Operators must ensure that the networking infrastructure is based upon proven switching and routing components supplied by well-known vendors, and that it employs high availability mechanisms- such as rapid spanning tree protocol (RSTP) in L2 devices and virtual router redundancy protocol (VRRP) in L3 devices.”
The resilience, together with the speed, of wireless mesh networks has led to their rapid uptake for video surveillance systems, especially in the United States. One of the latest examples of this is in Dallas, where the police are using the technology to expand the reach of their video surveillance operations. The system is a result of a partnership between Firetide’s multi-service mesh networking technology, and OnSSI’s IP video surveillance solution. Police officers are now able to remotely monitor and follow activities in real time, with the Firetide mesh nodes, which form the wireless network operating in the 4.9 GHz spectrum, licensed in the US to public safety agencies.
Finally, despite the global stock market gloom at present, it’s good to see that one of the leading networked security manufacturers is bucking the current bear trend. First half results for Axis Communication show a strong sales growth of 44% in its core market of network video products. The Swedish company also reported total net sales of around GB pound 55m in the first half of 2007, compared to around GB pound 40m in the corresponding period of 2006. Axis predicts that the market for network video will continue to grow across all regions for the second half of 2007.
Until next time
Ron Alalouff
Editor, Platform