Cameras, Recorders, Video Management and Evidence Integrity
Surveillance System Audits From Camera to Courtroom
A large surveillance system is hundreds of networked computers with lenses, and every camera, recorder and viewing app is a way in. GDF audits and tests large installations, from cameras, NVRs and video management software to remote access, firmware and credentials. Because we also examine video as forensic evidence, we test whether your retention, clocks and exports produce footage that can prove what happened.
Scope the installation
An Audit Sized to the Whole Installation
A campus, a transit system or a retail chain can run thousands of cameras across sites, models and firmware generations, installed by different integrators over many years. We scope by site, device family and management path, then decide with your security and IT teams which devices are examined in depth, which are sampled and which are checked by configuration export, so the audit covers the estate without touching every camera by hand.
Cameras, NVRs and VMS
Camera and recorder firmware, default and shared credentials, exposed services, the video management server and its database, and the client workstations operators use every shift.
Video Networks and Remote Access
Camera VLANs and segmentation, peer to peer cloud services, port forwards, vendor remote support and mobile viewing apps, the routes outsiders use to reach video systems.
Retention and Evidence Integrity
Retention settings against your policy, recorder clock accuracy, export formats and signatures, audit logs, and the chain of custody for clips that leave the system.
Methodology
How the Audit Works Across the Estate
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Device Census: Models and Firmware
We discover cameras, recorders and servers on the video network, reconcile them with your asset records and flag unknown devices, end of life models and firmware with published vulnerabilities.
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Outside Access: Internet, Cloud and Vendor
We test what is reachable from the internet, through manufacturer cloud services and through integrator remote access, and whether a viewing account can reach more than it should.
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Credentials and Configuration
We check for default, shared and hard coded credentials, unencrypted streams and management protocols, and settings that let a user stop recording or delete footage without leaving a trace.
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Pivot: Camera Network to Business Network
We test whether a compromised camera or recorder gives an attacker a foothold in the corporate network, a frequent gap when video systems were installed outside IT's view.
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Footage Integrity: Retention, Clocks and Exports
We test retention against policy, measure recorder clock drift, export sample clips and examine them with the methods we use on footage in litigation, then retest your corrections.
Tell us the sites, camera count and platforms and we will propose a sampling plan.
Covered Equipment and Footage That Holds Up
Federal contractors face a specific supply chain question. FAR 52.204-25, Prohibition on Contracting for Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment, covers video surveillance equipment produced by Hytera, Hikvision and Dahua, and their subsidiaries and affiliates, when it is used for public safety, security of government facilities, physical security surveillance of critical infrastructure or other national security purposes. Rebranded hardware can hide its origin, so our inventory identifies the underlying manufacturer wherever firmware and network behavior reveal it.
Footage only helps when it can prove what happened. GDF's audio, video and image authentication practice examines recordings for litigation, and the audit brings that perspective to your system: whether recorder clocks are accurate, retention matches what policy promises, exports carry verifiable signatures, and logs show who viewed or exported what.
Footage already in question? Call the 24/7 hotline at (800) 868-8189 before anyone exports it again or overwrites it.
Three Engagements for Security and IT Teams
We recommend starting with the audit and adding a penetration test where the video network touches business systems.
Surveillance Security Audit
A configuration and architecture audit across the estate, sampled by device family, that ranks findings by consequence and gives your integrator a corrective action list.
Video Network Penetration Test
An authorized test from the internet, a guest or business network and a compromised camera position, showing what an intruder could watch, disable or reach beyond the video system.
Evidence Readiness Review
A focused review of retention, clocks, export procedures and audit logs for organizations whose footage regularly ends up in claims, disputes or prosecutions.
Need the audit, the test or both? Scope Your Assessment
Video Evidence Experience Behind Every Audit
Since 1992 GDF has examined digital evidence for counsel and companies, including audio and video authentication, and our examiners have testified in federal and state courts. That background changes an audit, because the people reviewing your system know what an opposing expert looks for in surveillance footage.
Veronica Perez, a Senior Computer Forensic Specialist who served with the Los Angeles School Police Department and the West Covina Police Department, lists the EnCase Certified Examiner and Paraben Certified Mobile Phone Examiner credentials and is trained in JTAG, chip off and embedded hardware analysis. Robert Knudsen holds the CISSP, CCE and CHFI with CompTIA Security+, Network+ and A+, and founder Joseph Caruso holds the CISSP and the Certified Forensic Examiner credential.
Frequently asked
Surveillance Audit Questions From Security Teams
Will the audit interrupt recording?
The audit is planned so recording continues. Most work uses configuration exports, passive network capture and read only checks, and any step that could restart a device or interrupt a stream is scheduled with your security operations team.
Do you audit systems with thousands of cameras?
Yes. Large estates are scoped by site, model and firmware family, with in depth testing of representative devices and configuration checks across the rest, so coverage scales without testing every camera by hand.
Can you identify equipment covered by FAR 52.204-25?
Our inventory identifies camera and recorder manufacturers, including rebranded hardware where firmware and network behavior reveal the underlying maker, and flags equipment from the companies the clause names.
How does this connect to your video forensics work?
Our video forensics practice informs the evidence integrity checks, so problems that would weaken footage as evidence, such as clock drift, short retention or unsigned exports, surface before an incident instead of after it.
What do we receive?
A device and firmware inventory, validated findings ranked by consequence, an evidence readiness assessment, corrective actions your integrator can carry out and a retest record.
Scope your assessment
Show a Senior Examiner How Your System Is Built
On the first call we cover the number of sites and cameras, the recorders and video management platform you run, how remote access works, who maintains the system and what your footage is used for, then recommend the audit depth and schedule. The consultation is free, and requests are handled in confidence.
Include what the footage is used for.
GDF has examined video and digital evidence since 1992. The 24/7 hotline handles footage that is already in question.
Reviewed by Joseph Caruso, Founder, CEO and CTO, CISSP. Last reviewed .