Nearly every project we work on, we recommend that alarm initiating devices, especially door contacts, are to be configured using end of line (EOL) resistors for 4-state supervisory circuits. The actual resistance value and configuration can vary by system manufacturer, but typically it involves wiring a 1K Ohm resistor in series and another in parallel …
One of the most common questions we are asked by clients when starting a new project is if they should use Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras for video surveillance. As we work the the programmatic stage of the project, we try to apply some industry best practices with the client on HOW the cameras will …
Read more “Video Surveillance System Best Practices – The Right Way to Use CCTV”
In security, modern IP video CCTV camera systems inevitably involve support from the IT/Data Communications departments now, and we often get asked about “how much” bandwidth is needed and what cabling types we need for the cameras, switches, and servers. Often our advice is in conflict with the IT corporate standards, and we end up …
Read more “Cat 6a cabling, do you really need it for IP Video?”
Almost 30 years ago when I was first entering the security industry, closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras weren’t terribly different from the cameras that were being used to for movie and television production. They were smaller, typically had less resolution and no audio, but the basic principles were the same. Charged Coupled Device (CCD) cameras …
In September of 2016, at least 500 million Yahoo accounts have been affected in one of the largest data breaches in history. My Yahoo account was one of them, although I only used it as a personal dump account for registering on non-essential websites. Luckily I kept no personal or financial information in any of …
Read more “A Theory on the Yahoo Security Breach and Your Instant Messenger Service”
[dropcap style=”round” color=”blue-grey”]S[/dropcap]everal years ago, I worked on a project prototype for a major group of sea ports that had an interest to use the state’s drivers license image database for facial recognition/verification of TWIC applicants and the eventual use for identity verification for critical card access points. The main focus of the project was …
When we receive a request from an attorney or a forensic engineer to review digital video material, we are most often asked, “Is this video clip reliable?” Over the years, we’ve learned that this can mean many different things. The material in question is often a short piece of video in the form of a …
Read more “Digital Video Forensics: “Is this video clip reliable?””
[dropcap style=”square” color=”blue-grey”]O[/dropcap]ne of the questions I keep asking myself as I keep reading the dozens of recent articles about how Sony got hacked by “North Korea” is, why does Sony KEEP getting hacked? The short answer is “because they can”. But the longer answer points to a corporate culture that doesn’t understand the need …
Read more “Hacking Sony – Corporate culture broken from the top down”
[dropcap style=”square” color=”blue-grey”]W[/dropcap]e’ve all had it happen: either a bad battery or a blown fuse in a security power supply. It causes cameras to fail, a card access door to stop working, or a whole panel to fail. Power supplies in their simplest sense do a very basic thing: They turn 120 volts AC power …
[dropcap style=”square” color=”blue-grey”]W[/dropcap]hen working with a client once, they asked us to help harden their biological research labs by recommending additional security measures they could install. We did an initial and very casual walkthrough with them of the labs and how they were used. They were particularly proud of the Hirsch Scramblepads they had installed …