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Secure remote access to new CCTV

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Hi,

 

We just had a new 4k Hikvision system installed to protect our office and overall premises. I asked the installer if we could connect remotely to view via the Hikvision app. over SSL i.e. securely and they assured us we could. I'm far from expert but I know a bit about servers etc and I'm pretty confident that we are not set up to connect securely. There is facility to generate a self-signed SSL certificate on the NVR but this is not set up.

 

The installer reckons everything is "encrypted" but is it really? Is connection remotely via the Hikvision app actually safe please? The kit is connected to our network and I reckon some relatively trivial packet sniffing could reveal connections details irrespective of how long the admin password is. It's also pretty simple to find open router ports even though we shifted these from the defaults.

 

Another issue is that I can see the installer forwarded 6 or 7 ports - the NVR and the cams. I didn't think this was necessary either but I'm new to all of this.

 

The kit works fine and the images are excellent. Even the intrusion detection is pretty good too. However, I do need to understand that the installers (apparently experienced and reputable) actually set the job up as securely as possible i.e. minimal ports forwarded and remote access via SSL if this is possible. I can set up a VPN on our remote devices but this seems like a pain if we can access over SSL.

 

It would be ironic to have a CCTV system installed only to be hacked as a result of it. Or am I being paranoid?

 

Slight aside but should the NVR fan also be very loud? Apparently related to POE but again I'm not totally sure and just want to know it's typical and safe.

 

Cheers for your help,

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