In this lesson,
we're going to cover surveillance systems.
Now, a surveillance system can play an integral role
in maintaining the security and safety
of various facilities, including your business,
your home and commonly used public areas.
These systems encompass a wide range of tools
and methods that are aimed at monitoring and analyzing
environments to detect and respond to potential threats.
From traditional security guards to high-tech sensors,
the tools under this umbrella serve a common purpose.
They're trying to keep an eye out
for suspicious or harmful activities.
Now, at its core, a surveillance system
is an organized strategy or setup
that's designed to observe and report activities
in a given area.
These surveillance systems can be as simple
as a single security guard stationed
at the front desk of your office building,
or they could be as sophisticated
as a network of interconnected sensors and cameras
that are constantly being analyzed
by advanced artificial intelligence systems.
Surveillance is often comprised of four main categories.
We call these video surveillance, security guards,
lighting and sensors.
Let's take a quick look at each of these.
First, we have video surveillance.
Now, when I bring up the topic of surveillance,
most people immediately think of the use of video cameras
to visually monitor different areas of your facility.
Modern video surveillance systems have evolved
beyond the simple passive recording capabilities though
and these days video surveillance systems
can include features like motion detection,
night vision, facial recognition and remote access
through your smartphone or computer.
The primary benefit of using a video surveillance system
is that it has the ability to provide
real-time visual feedback
and the capability for you to also review
the recorded footage after an incident has occurred.
These surveillance cameras are considered
to be a detective control
and they come in both wired and wireless versions.
A wired solution means that the security camera
is physically cabled from the device
all the way back to the central monitoring station.
A wireless solution, on the other hand,
relies on wifi or other wireless signals
to send a signal back to that central monitoring station.
While wireless systems are easier to install
they can be subject to interference with other systems
or an attacker can jam them using the same frequencies
during their physical intrusion attacks.
Now, these video surveillance systems are commonly known
as closed circuit TV or CCTV,
and they're also categorized as
either an indoor or outdoor based system.
If you're trying to monitor your parking lot, for example,
you're going to install an outdoor camera
that's able to withstand the elements
like snow and rain and wind.
If you're going to monitor your indoor areas,
like the access doors to your server room
or the entrance to your lobby,
you can instead use an indoor camera
which is a less expensive model than an outdoor model,
since it doesn't have to be withstanding all those elements.
Now, another great feature to look for in your CCTV systems
is what's known as PTZ or Pan-Tilt-Zoom.
Now, a Pan-Tilt-Zoom system or PTZ system
is really great if you have a centralized monitoring station
that's being operated by a guard
who's going to be observing it at all times of the day or night
because they can actually move the camera
or adjust its angle to better detect issues
during an intrusion.
You've probably seen this type of security camera in movies
during a bank heist scene,
and that's where the guard is using a little joystick
to move the camera in or out, or up or down,
in any direction to get a different perspective.
In addition to that, you might be able to pan left,
pan right, pan up, pan down,
zoom in, zoom out, and other things like that.
Now, when you're placing your cameras
it's important to consider what you're trying to guard.
Ensure that your cameras are positioned
to capture the right viewing angles.
The most common places to use cameras
are always going to be your entrances
and exits to your critical infrastructure.
This includes your data center,
your communication closets
and your entrances and exits to the building,
like your back doors and lobby to that office building.
By covering all these different areas
you're going to be able to see if an attacker tries
to enter or leave any critical areas.
Now, cameras should also be configured
to record what you're observing,
and you should always review the captured footage
to ensure you're able to maintain
the physical integrity of your spaces.
For example, at my home,
I have a video surveillance system set up
that uses machine learning to identify
when somebody is entering or leaving the home,
and it can determine if that person was authorized
or not to be able to go in that home.
If they weren't authorized to be there,
the system will actually send me an alert
and I can classify it as an intrusion or an authorized entry
into the building by reviewing that footage.
Second, we have security guards.
Now, security guards are one of the most flexible
and adaptable forms of surveillance
that organizations can use.
This is because security guards
are trained to detect unusual or suspicious behavior
and they can also respond immediately to situations,
make judgment calls
and provide a visual deterrent to potential attackers.
Security guards can also help to reassure your staff
or your customers that they're going to be safe
because a security guard is in the building.
Third, we have lighting.
Now, many organizations overlook
the configuration of their lighting,
but proper lighting is crucial
for conducting effective surveillance
using both video and security guards.
If you create well-lit areas,
this can also deter criminals
and reducing shadows and hiding spots
and enhancing the quality of your video recordings
is all side benefits of having a well-lit area.
Additionally, certain lighting solutions
like motion activated lights can serve dual purposes,
by illuminating an area when movement is detected
and serving as a deterrent and alert system
against a would-be attacker.
Fourth, and finally, we have sensors.
Now, sensors are devices that detect and respond
to external stimulus or changes in the environment,
and then converts that information into a readable signal
or some kind of data that can be sent over the network.
There are generally four categories of sensors.
These are infrared sensors, pressure sensors,
microwave sensors, and ultrasonic sensors.
Now, infrared sensors are used to detect changes
in infrared radiation that's often emitted
by warm bodies like humans or animals.
If somebody enters the detection zone,
the change in infrared radiation
is going to trigger the sensor.
Infrared sensors are especially effective in low light
or dark conditions where it's hard to visually see
if an attacker is there.
Next we have pressure sensors,
and pressure sensors are activated
whenever a specified amount of weight
is detected on the sensor
that's embedded into the floor or into a mat.
These pressure sensors are quite useful
for detecting unauthorized entry into restricted areas
or even for simple tasks like alerting store owners
when a new customer enters the store.
Microwave sensors are going to be used
to detect movement in an area by emitting microwave pulses
and measuring the reflection of moving objects back to them.
These microwave sensors can cover large areas
but sometimes they're going to be prone to false alarms
because they're often configured
to have a very high sensitivity level.
And finally, ultrasonic sensors.
Ultrasonic sensors are going to be used to measure
the reflection of ultrasonic waves off moving objects.
Essentially, ultrasonic sensors operate much like a bat does
using echo location to detect objects in their path.
Most of the time you're going to see that ultrasonic sensors
are used in automated systems like automated doors
or to detect movement within an indoor environment.
So remember, surveillance systems often combine
various tools and techniques to monitor,
detect and respond to potential threats
or unusual activities.
To architect an effective
physical security system though
you need to ensure that you're integrating
various elements to provide comprehensive coverage
and a swift response capability
when an attacker is detected.
As technology continues to advance,
so do the surveillance methods available
to our organizations for use,
which makes it imperative that cybersecurity professionals
and organizations remain up to date on the options available
so they can best leverage the right tool
for their specific use cases.