Genetec’s research finds 53.9% of surveillance cameras are running with outdated firmware

Genetec, a technology provider of unified security, public safety, operations, and business intelligence solutions announces its participation at Intersec 2020. At the exhibition, visitors will get a sneak peak of the upcoming release of  Security Centre 5.9; Genetec will also showcase Security Centre 5.8. The new platform features focus on raising awareness about the importance of multidimensional security solutions to mitigate physical and cyber risks. Genetec conducted primary research which shows that nearly 1 in 4 organisations, 23%, fail to use unique passwords and rely on the same password across all cameras from the same manufacturer. This leaves an easy point of entry for hackers once  a camera has been compromised.

“We see enterprises in the Middle East increasingly moving towards unified security environments, where multiple systems combine to provide a comprehensive view of security and operational events. Yet, there seems to be a set it and forget it mentality when securing physical devices using passwords. Also, more than half of installed cameras are running with an outdated firmware and contain known cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Keeping a default factory password and not updating the firmware puts an entire organisation’s security and its people’s privacy at risk, ” said Firas Jadalla, Regional Director at Genetec.

Security Centre is an open-architecture platform that helps users actively monitor the health of their system and ensure compliance with cybersecurity best practices. The platform  unifies video surveillance, access control, automatic license plate recognition, communications, and analytics. The unified platform features customisable live dashboards, enhanced privacy protection features and, a brand-new map-driven mobile app. Security Centre allows users to optimise their physical security environment while benefiting from greater visibility into their operations.

“Physical security devices and systems are smarter and more powerful than ever before. As part of both public and private networks, they are increasingly interconnected. This connectivity facilitates their management, speeds up communications, and increases collaboration. However, this also means that physical security systems need cybersecurity solutions.  A poorly secured camera, unencrypted communications between a server and client application, or out-of-date firmware can all be exploited by cybercriminals,” said Firas Jadalla, Regional Director at Genetec.