PSIJanuary2019

PROMOTION
Cameras and cyber health
In the first of a new series of
blogs, Axis reveals the four ways
you could be risking the cyber
health of network cameras
ybersecurity threats have continued to
Cgrow substantially over the past few years.
Proactive prevention practices remain the
best protection, like early detection of poor
maintenance routines, which allows businesses
to build in cybersecurity into their work
routines. An important dimension here is
maintaining IT systems and network cameras —
as important as the deployment of the system
itself. Over time, if security systems are
inadequately maintained, they are likely to
become susceptible to vulnerabilities and data
breaches.
Below are the four signs of poor system
cyber health identified by Axis that you must be
aware of to ensure that surveillance and
security systems remain protected:
Teams are not aligned
This could be an issue regarding a disparity
between how hardware and software solutions
are connected to the network, or how IT policies
recommend they should be connected. A lack of
alignment between IT and security teams and
processes is amplified further when disparate
networks are involved, leading to increased
confusion regarding the correct security
measures to take. In turn, this will increase risks
of data breaches.
Users, policies and procedures
36% of all reported data breaches were due to
human error, according to the Notifiable Data
Breach report which covers all breaches from
April 1 to June 30 in 2018.
Following IT policies is a crucial protocol to
avoid extremely preventable breaches. By
having standards in place, users can ensure that
the system remains secure and operates at its
optimum level. Remember the enforcement of
policies needs to be ongoing, as some users or
new recruits may be unaware of, or be following,
procedures systematically. One unintended
action could put the whole system at risk.
Thus, if the company hasn’t specified clearly
defined requirements and expectations with
regards to IT security, the organisation suffers
from a dramatically increased likely to
encounter cyber-attacks.
Installation and maintenance plans
It can happen that the installer will not
completely understand or account for all of the
specific needs that a system requires at the time
it is deployed. It is also plausible for some
vendors to be not regularly visiting businesses
for a planned maintenance interval. Systems
that are not well maintained also suffer from
dramatically increased susceptibility to attacks.
All stakeholders responsible for maintenance
should have a clear schedule for testing and
maintaining the system, and that a clear audit
trail is kept — from the day of installation
onwards so any issues can be easily identified
and rectified,
Vendors and cyber security
Any technology vendor should ideally keep
users well informed about the best practices for
network health and discuss which precautions
can be taken regarding cybersecurity. Each
technology is part of a bigger system and it is
likely that systems are not fully secured.
Conclusion
Businesses cannot be expected to maintain the
protection of their assets independently. It
requires a collaborative effort to manage threats
on a system level. Protecting an organisation’s
network, its devices and services from
cyberattacks is not the user’s concern alone;
responsibility falls across the entire vendor
supply chain.
www.axis.com/about-axis/cybersecurity/
Over time, if security
systems are
inadequately
maintained, they are
likely to become
susceptible to
vulnerabilities and
data breaches
To understand more about Axis
solutions that can help protect
your data and network, visit:
www.psimagazine.co.uk
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