CCTV and access control, Sydney
Most CCTV faults are found on the day somebody needs the footage. This is an audit of the system you already own, tested by pulling real footage out of it rather than by reading the settings screen.
- Covers
- Cameras, recorder, doors, network
- Output
- Written findings and a fix list
- Area
- Sydney and New South Wales
Six questions a camera system has to answer
A system that fails any one of these is not a security system on the day it matters. The audit answers all five in writing, with the evidence for each.
Recording
Is it writing anything down?
A channel can show a live picture and record nothing at all. Dropped channels, a full or failing disk, and a recording schedule nobody has looked at since install are the usual three.
Retention
How far back does it really go?
Retention is decided by disk size, camera count, resolution and whether the cameras run continuously. The real window is measured, not read off the quote you were given.
Export
Can you get a clip out of it?
Many recorders write a proprietary format that only their own player opens. If nobody has ever exported a clip, nobody knows whether it works or what it produces.
Access
Who can log in today?
Default passwords, one account shared by everybody, and logins that still work for people who left. The audit lists who can reach the system and how.
Exposure
Is the recorder on the internet?
Port forwarding set up years ago for phone viewing, cloud pairing left switched on, and firmware that has never been updated. A recorder is a computer, and it is usually the oldest one on the network.
Doors
Who still holds a working fob?
Access control is in scope: the fob list against the staff list, whether leavers were removed, and whether the door log is kept long enough to be worth reading.
The footage you have never tested is footage you do not have.
How the audit runs
Inspect
The recorder, the disks, the channel list, the accounts and the network path to the unit, on site.
Test
A real export is pulled and the retention window is measured, because a settings page describes an intention rather than what the disk is doing.
Report
Written findings: what is recording, what is not, what an export actually produces, and who can reach the system.
Fix list
The changes in priority order, written so your installer or your own IT people can act on them without us.
What the audit will not do
Honest boundaries
- It describes the system as it is on the day it is examined, not as it will be.
- It cannot recover footage the recorder has already written over.
- It cannot make a camera cover ground it does not point at.
- Hardware supply and installation are not part of it.
- It is not a licence, a certificate or a compliance sign off, and it is not offered as one.
What you get
- A written record of every camera and channel, and what each one is doing.
- The measured retention window, with how it was measured.
- A test export, so you know what a clip from this system looks like.
- The account and access list, including the ones nobody remembered.
- The fix list, in the order that closes the most exposure first.
What it costs
Work is quoted per matter before it starts. The rate below is what that quote is built from.
That rate is $1,000 a day. All prices are in AUD, plus GST.
How long a site takes depends on the number of cameras, the number of recorders and how much of the system is documented. The quote states the number of days before anything starts.
See the rate in fullIf the footage is already missing
That is a different job and it is urgent, because a running recorder writes over the oldest footage to make room. Take the unit out of service first, then read the recovery page.
Do not let anybody reset, reformat or reinstall the recorder to fix it. Every one of those destroys what is still on the disk.
- CCTV footage recovery for deleted or lost footage on a DVR or NVR.
- Cyber security audit when the recorder is only one of the things exposed.
Questions owners and building managers ask
How do I know if my cameras are actually recording?
Test an export, not the settings screen. Pick a camera, pick a time yesterday, and get a playable file off the recorder onto a USB stick. A channel can show a live picture and still be recording nothing, and the settings page will not tell you.
How long does a recorder keep footage?
Until the disk is full, and then it writes over the oldest footage. The real window depends on disk size, camera count, resolution and whether the cameras record all the time or only on motion. It is almost never the number written on the quote.
Is my recorder reachable from the internet?
Often, and usually without anyone deciding it should be. Port forwarding set up years ago for phone access, cloud pairing left switched on, and the default password still in place are the three we find most. The audit checks all three.
Do you install cameras?
No. This is an audit of the system you already own, and hardware supply is not part of it. You get written findings and a fix list in priority order, which you can hand to your installer, your IT people, or us.
What about the door access system?
It is in scope. Who holds a working fob, whether leavers were removed, whether the door log is kept long enough to be useful, and whether the controller shares the same exposed network path as the recorder.
The footage I need is already gone. Can you help?
That is a different job and it is urgent. Stop the recorder before you do anything else, because it overwrites while it runs. Read the CCTV footage recovery page for what to do next.
What does an audit cost?
Work is quoted per matter before it starts. The rate that quote is built from is $1,000 a day, plus GST. The quote states how many days the site needs before anything begins.