DocAndersen
Does the reality of camera surveillance change the world forever? A couple of months ago one of our neighbor’s house (adjoining) was broken into. We didn’t know that, but when there was an evening knock on the door, a police officer was standing on the porch. I invited the officer in, and they informed us that there had been a robbery next door. Did, he asked our video camera in the back see our neighbors backyard? It does not, the ethics of video security requires you not to watch your neighbors house. But we did see movement along the fence line and were able to establish a timeline for the police. I suspect based on the last couple of news articles I’ve seen, the police now routinely ask for video surveillance.
Who could blame them? IT makes their job easier, and therefore all of us safer. Business locations have for many years had cameras. Ok, some of them had shells, not real cameras. But some have actual cameras. They are normally mounted in such a place that would be difficult for someone to reach. Or that is not what people expect a security camera to look like. I like to walk by the cameras I know about and wave. I figure whoever is reviewing the video welcomes the occasional wave. Being the eye in the sky is not an easy job. In fact my guess it is a boring job often, that becomes a high-stress job very quickly. What happens when you don’t see the event that everyone needs images of so they can recreate the event.
Video security is also a blanket issue. As in, what are you trying to do with the video surveillance? Are you protecting your home, watching your children or seeing what the dog does while you are away? By the way, the same device can do all three. Personally, I like the Canary video cameras. They are small, easily placed in your home. They operate on ethernet or wi-fi. They have a great iOS and a great Android application, so you can see what is going on when you aren’t home. They are smart enough to change their status when you leave home. As if, if they don’t see your phone on the home wi-fi they go from disarmed to armed. They are motion sensitive, so if something movies, Carnary notifies you. They are cloud-based so that if someone does break into your home, and then shatters your canary, it doesn’t matter, They had to enter the home to get to the camera and the camera already uploaded the fact that they were there to cloud. Not sure why the thief wouldn’t run out of the house when they realized there was a camera but there is sometimes no reason.
“It can’t happen to me” isn’t my line, so you are welcome to it. But even if it were, you would have my blessing to use it…
Thanks, Alex, I will figure out how to sculpt that security post!
I have every confidence that it will be worth the wait, so take your time
that sounds like a robust security protocol
Well, so far it has prevented the damage to our cars, our house. But, as Carol says below, not sure it matters as much as it once did. Things can be replaced, I just want to keep my family safe!
It isn’t hack proof (nothing is) but it seems to have addressed most of the security concerns I can think of
I always tell people two things.
1, if a hacker wants something you have, and it isn’t unplugged, they will get it.
2. Rule two for security, refer to rule one.
Hackers only have to follow the rules they (the hacker) deem necessary. The rest of us have many more rules.
Pretty much. If they can physically interact with the system, doubly so…
You’ve hit on a great problem in the modern era. There was a time when it was de rigor to shut systems down at night. 24 by 7 wasn’t something companies even considered an option. It reduced their risk without them even knowing it. Banks were vulnerable because they had to process batch jobs at night. Everyone else though was safer. Now with always on, always connected, always communicating we haven’t really caught up.
When you’re global, when can you shut down? It is always business hours somewhere… But when you extend your business hours, you expand your vulnerable surface area
That is an excellent point Alex, the further you reach the thinner you stretch!
and the bigger you get the more of a target you are
It makes me wonder sometimes, first off as a hacker I am looking for high-value targets. I don’t want to spend hours of time to get a quarter. I want value. The value is of course either financial or information.
That means the primary targets would be systems that provide that level of return. The value isn’t always in the currency!
hackers generally want the best rate of return for the least amount of effort, so the idea is to have enough security to make it prohibitive
Well good for you, maybe your surveillance will help them out. There are cameras everywhere thee days. Thieves have a lot of nerve to try breaking an d entering and then getting away.
They recently played a door camera showing someone walking up to a door, and stealing a package. It really makes me wonder, because you see the persons face clearly on the camera. They caught the person an hour later in their car, with lots of boxes, and no excuse!
I know, I see the same on the news and I wonder if these people just don’t have a brain!
What about the flatliners who commit a crime and then post it on facebook? Guess they don’t know a post facto admission of guilt is even better than a confession
That is a bigger issue, and speaks horribly of our education system.
I like that line Alex, “It can’t happen to me” may I use it for a future Cyber Security article?
I suspect the long answer is yes they do. The short answer is they don’t use it all the time.
the only thing worse than wholesale ignorance is being aware of the consequences and then thinking “it can’t happen to me”