If a (Dahua) cam SD card or NVR gets stolen, how secure is the footage?

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Perimeter

Getting comfortable
Feb 18, 2023
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Assume a thief steals the camera with SD card or an NVR with HDD. The device is pw protected, the thief will reset the device and sell it or whatever.

What about the media in that device? Can the thief acccess the video without the device-password? How safe is it?
 
Perimeter said:
Obviously not, as it got stolen. :)

When I put such a card in my PC's SD-card reader, it wants to format the card. So what is done to the data when you use this "private file system"?
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The answer is in response to your question. If you want to parse words that's your problem. Anyone can easily read your data, it is not encrypted.
 
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Perimeter said:
I just want to understand what it takes to view a stolen card. I don't see data on it when I stuff it into a PC. The PC doesn't even accept the card, it wants to format.
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I'd lay bets that if the card was presented to a Linux box, the contents would be available.
Windows is a bit gung-ho about wanting to format any file system or partition it isn't able to create itself.
 
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alastairstevenson said:
I'd lay bets that if the card was presented to a Linux box, the contents would be available.
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You win the bet !!!
I popped a card into linux and all of the .dav files are visible. Carried a file over to windows where I have the .dav player, and it plays normally.
On the NVR, somebody with a little knowledge might be able to get in through one of the default logins using a hardwired mouse/monitor. Or maybe just pop the disk into a linux box.
 
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Well, thank you to all.
That kind of surprises me. So many things are protected, but this would have been easy to protect, or not?
 
LOL - these devices are not that protected and for being "security" cams they are lax on security risks from the internet, which is why we isolate them from the internet, so why would we expect the SD cards to be secure.

Remember we are not their intended market and I suspect most of their market either doesn't put them in or they aren't concerned.

If someone has time to steal your cameras or open them up to take the cards then you have bigger issues.
 
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wittaj said:
If someone has time to steal your cameras or open them up to take the cards then you have bigger issues.
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Interesting point: How many of the "away from home" services can you use if you isolate your cams from the net?

If nobody is home, what will you do if someone steals your camera? Accoustic alarm? Automated police notification?
 
My NVR is in the crawlspace where any intruders hopefully won't be looking.
 
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Perimeter said:
That kind of surprises me. So many things are protected, but this would have been easy to protect, or not?
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What is the likelihood of someone stealing both the camera with SD card AND the NVR?

Security is layers of protection.
  • Cameras detect (and aid to deter).
  • Alarms detect and scare away.
  • Physical locks and fences delay entry.
  • Hiding devices delays finding it.

If you are concerned about someone stealing your NVR, make it more secure.
Hide it, put it in a rack-mount lock box and install a burglar alarm.
A thief won't want to be spending 3 minutes busting a lock while they are going deaf with a siren sounding.
 
There was a recent post by someone from Australia (I think) that had perp(s) enter his home while he was away. Seemed to have spent a LOT of time entering and searching. They did steal his NVR, but not his cams. If I remember correctly, he did not have SD cards in his cams. Also I am not clear remembering, but I think they somehow disabled his alarm. So he has no video of the burglary.

Personally, I have an alarm and neighbors that know when I am away. They know when I will return. I check my system at least twice a day when I am away. My BI server is not hidden so it could easily be taken. Somehow I doubt that anyone will take my cams and they do have SD cards. There are multiple cams at each entry point and inside my home. If they were to try and take cams, they would need ladders to get some of them. Good luck not attracting any suspicion doing that. Cams, POE switches, modem and BI server are all on separate UPS's. If I were to attempt logging in and could not gain access while away, I would be calling my friends for answers.

Obviously a determined burglar could get through unobserved, but it would take a lot of planning and I am just not that interesting for that much bother. And if they do, I have insurance.

Like @Mark_M said, security is in layers.
 
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Most of us use our surveillance systems to protect our property, family, etc, not necessarily to 'protect' the footage. If you're looking to protect the footage you should look into some other methods of data protection & encryption as well as physical security for the vulnerable data storage. FDE, locked closets & cabinets, etc
 
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kjinxx2 said:
Most of us use our surveillance systems to protect our property, family, etc, not necessarily to 'protect' the footage.
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I don't know what someone who stole your footage would find on the cards (video, audio), but if you have them on motion activated, he will find your family on them frequently. I don't know if you don't mind that. I would.
 
If you are that concerned, then the option is no cameras or don't put SD cards in them or have them on auto delete after a day or so (whatever frequency you would be checking recordings) or reformat them every time you review recordings.
 
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Perimeter said:
I don't know what someone who stole your footage would find on the cards (video, audio), but if you have them on motion activated, he will find your family on them frequently. I don't know if you don't mind that. I would.
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Yes I take the precautions that I noted above to protect stored files
 
Perimeter said:
So you use no cards? Or buy cams that encrypt?
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No - my SD cards are not encrypted. I have SD cards in all of my cams, none of which are easily accessible and the ones that are are all 'watched' by other cameras to detect tampering. If a thief has managed to steal any of my cameras then my system has already failed catastrophically and the footage stored on the SD cards will be the least of my worries. The inside of my house is protected by more than just cameras but an entire security system via HA.
 
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