IPSecurityWatch.com |

Feb. 2008 - With the widespread use of IP networks for data, video and voice by government, financial institutions and corporate enterprises, today's users are demanding better technology for transferring information securely. Over the last decade, a tremendous amount of R&D money has been spent to strengthen security to keep highly sensitive information safe in transit

Creating secure communication means not only addressing security issues within a network, but between different networks and clients. Effective solutions need to control everything from the data sent over the network to who actually uses and accesses the pipeline. They not only need to authenticate and authorize the source of the message but also ensure the privacy of the communication as it flows through the network.

Authentication and Authorization: Who are you and do you have permission to be here?

The first step requires the user or device to identify itself to the network and the remote endpoint - the recipient. There are a number of ways to authenticate this identity to the network or system. The most typical is through a username and password. Once the identity is authenticated, the second step is to verify whether that user or device has authority to operate as requested. Once authorization is confirmed, the user is fully connected and allowed to send a transmission.

As a basic protection, this technology might be sufficient for installations where a high level of security is not required, or where the video network is separated from the main network to prevent authorized users from having physical access to it.

Privacy: Can you keep the transmission from prying eyes?
The second step involves encrypting the communication to prevent others from using or reading the data as it travels through the network. There are a number of technology options open to integrators, each with its pros and cons. I would like to discuss four of them:

• IP filtering
• Virtual private network
• HTTPS
• 802.1X

A restrictive firewall: IP filtering
Some network cameras and video encoders use IP filtering to prevent all but one or a few IP addresses from accessing the network video components. IP filtering provides a function similar to a built-in firewall.