Architectures and standards for hardening of an integrated security system

Abstract

Physical security systems, such as bulgar alarms, surveillance cameras and door access control systems are becoming more and more advanced. To be able to use the increased functionality and to reduce the needed infrastructure, they are also typically connected using TCP/IP and integrated in a centralized security system. This integration allows for remote administration and intelligent software solutions. However, this progress opens up such integrated security systems for cyber attacks. This study gathers the cyber threats and risks that applies to integrated security systems. Then a few major cyber security guidelines and standards on the market are analyzed to get a set of security practices that are applicable to integrated security systems. Based on the security practices learned, a hardening architecture is proposed for an integrated security system featuring surveillance cameras, bulgar alarms and access control with remote access. The results show that there are many threats directed towards integrated security systems. The guidelines studied gives a good foundation for cyber security but the practices has to be somewhat tweaked to fit integrated security systems. By using smart firewall design with encrypted VPN to segment the network tightly, most threats can be eliminated without much complexity overhead.