OnSolve Survey Identifies Five Challenges Businesses Should Focus On in 2019

April 29, 2019

Hikvision Cyber Incident and Security Breach Resources

Hikvision Cyber Incident and Security Breach Resources

 

In the article, “Five Emerging Business Continuity Challenges For 2019,” Security magazine covered results of the OnSolve Crisis Communications & Emergency Notification Survey, which identified five challenges businesses should incorporate into their planning efforts.

The report surveyed 300 enterprise decision makers about business continuity, IT, and disaster recovery challenges. A few of the key challenges identified in the survey are outlined in more detail below.

 

Up-To-Date Employee Info

The ability to reach the right contact in an organization swiftly and at the right time is important for business continuity. The survey found that lacking up-to-date employee contact information was a primary concern for 25 percent of respondents.

From the article: “Creating an effective strategy to capture all key forms of contact information – from the time a new hire joins the company to periodic update periods – is an important first step. Among organizations using mass notification systems, 85 percent use email, 59 percent use text messaging, 52 percent use phone calls, 17 percent use a mobile app, and 13 percent use desktop alerts. In other words, employees receive notifications through multiple channels, and they all must be kept up to date.”

The article recommends notification systems with two-way communication so that employees can respond right away, allowing the emergency response team to quickly account for all employee whereabouts.

 

Notifying Employees of Security Breach

Increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks are requiring new and effective ways to disseminate attack information to all employees across an organization as quickly as possible when there is a security breach or other cyber incident.

“Cyberattacks aren’t new, but the sophistication of these attacks demand that organizations have an effective way to alert employees in the early stages of a cyberattack–because after the fact is, in fact, too late. Gartner estimates that each minute of unplanned downtime costs organizations $5,600 per minute. If a network is down and computers and email are not accessible to employees, even seconds matter so that further damage isn't done (preventing employees from any action that further exposes the business),” said the article.

Sixty-three percent of respondents said malware was the cyber threat most likely to impede their ability for rapid employee notification. This was followed by ransomware, phishing, and email compromise.

 

Other Challenges

Other challenges from the survey included accounting for a geographically dispersed workforce, staying ahead of social media disinformation, and sever weather events. According to the article, “severe and extreme weather events are their [survey respondents] leading concern when it comes to emergency communications and response—outpacing other events such as active shooters (22 percent), cybersecurity attacks (15 percent), IT outages (12 percent), and workplace violence (8 percent).”

Read more about the survey results at this link.

 

Hikvision Cyber Incident and Security Breach Resources

Hikvision has an extensive catalogue of cybersecurity blogs, which offer tips and insights to address cyber incidents, reduce the risk of security breach, address network security concerns, and educate partners and employees on how to identify threats such as phishing emails.

Hikvision’s director of cybersecurity, Chuck Davis, wrote a blog about ways to reduce cyberattacks and security concerns in network security, user security and system administration. Davis advocates the practice of "defense in depth," an approach to manage risk that uses multiple layers of defense to provide additional protection against a potential cyberattack, including network segmentation. An excerpt from the article:

“This is the way corporate networks are built, which is based on the principle of least privilege – this means only giving people or systems access to the resources that they need, and nothing more. This is effective for the obvious reason of keeping sensitive resources only accessible by those who need access, but it is also an effective means of compartmentalizing a network environment in case of cyberattack or malware infection,” said Davis.

IMPORTANT! This model requires non-standard firmware. Do Not Install standard firmware (e.g. v.4.1.xx) on this model. Doing so will permanently damage your system. You must use custom firmware v.4.1.25 from the iDS-9632NXI-I8/16S product page.

View the most updated version of this document here:

https://techsupportca.freshdesk.com/en/support/solutions/articles/17000113531-i-series-nvr-firmware-upgrade-instructions

 

The I-series NVR (such as the DS-7716NI-I4) is one of Hikvision's most popular and feature-rich recorders. As such, many firmware revisions have been introduced over the years to continually ensure the product is compatible with the newest technology available. Due to the many revisions, we recommend that the user closely follows the instructions below in order to reduce the amount of time spent as well as the chance of failure.

 

Database Optimization and Repair

As more affordable IP cameras are introduced over time with greater video resolution and data sizes, more efficient database management also becomes necessary. The introduction of firmware v4.0 brought about a new database architecture in order to be futureproof.

 

After upgrading to v4.X, the recorder database will need to be converted and optimized. If you are experiencing issues where playback is expected but not found, make sure "Database Repair" is performed as indicated in the procedures and scenarios below.

 

Preparing the Upgrade

Before proceeding with upgrade, it is recommended that NVR configuration file is exported from the NVR over the network or on to a local USB drive.

 

Upgrading from v3.4.92 build 170518 or Older

  1. All recorders must reach v3.4.92 before proceeding further. Upgrading from versions before v3.4.92 directly to any version of v4.X will likely cause the recorder to fail.
  2. If the recorder is already at v3.4.92, a full factory default is highly recommended before upgrading to any version of v4.X. There is a high chance of unit failure (requiring RMA) if the unit is not defaulted before upgrade.
  3. After reaching v3.4.92 and performing a full factory default, an upgrade directly to v4.50.00 is acceptable.
  4. After the upgrade is completed and the recorder is reprogrammed, it may be beneficial to perform a Database Repair. For details, refer to the section "Database Optimization and Repair" above.
  5. To verify repair progress, you may refer to the HDD status, or search the recorder log for repair started and stopped entries. Note that while the HDD is repairing, new recordings are still being made, but some existing recordings may not be searchable until repair is complete.
  6. If you continue to observe playback issues after database repair, ensure there are no power, network, or motion detection issues. Should the problem persist, contact technical support.

 

Upgrading from Any v4.X Build to v4.50.00.

  1. Any v4.X build can be upgraded directly to v4.50.00.
  2. Export configuration is highly recommended before performing the upgrade.
  3. If upgrading from any v4.X version that was not v4.22.005, a Database Repair is recommended. Refer to Step 4 and onwards in the previous section.

 

Downgrading

Downgrading is not recommended. Due to new features and parameters constantly being added, downgrading may cause the NVR to factory default itself or require a manual default to operate properly.

View the most updated version of this document here:
K-Series DVR upgrade instruction
The Turbo 4 Hybrid DVR K series has multiple models and across different platform and chipset. It also has similar firmware development of other recording product line; DVR K series has also introduced the GUI4.0 to ensure the series to be compatible to the newest technology available. The new database architecture is also brought into the DVR firmware v4.0 to be future proof and for better recording search experience. 
 


Database Optimization and Repair

As more affordable cameras introduced over time with greater video resolution and data sizes, more efficient database management also becomes necessary. The introduction of firmware v4.0 brought about a new database architecture in order to be futureproof.
After upgrading to v4.X, the recorder database will need to be converted and optimize. If you are experiencing issues, where playback is expected but not found, please make sure to perform "Database Rebuild" as indicated in the procedures and scenarios below.
 


Preparing the Upgrade

Before proceeding with upgrade, it is recommend exporting DVR configuration file from the DVR over the network or on to a local USB drive.

 

Action after firmware upgraded 

1. Upgrade the DVR according to the chart above. 

2. Reconfirming Channel's Recording Schedule 

    - Confirm channel's recording schedule is enable. 

    - Check if the channel is on correct recording schedule.

3. Double Check Storage Setting

    - Make sure all channel are assigned to record on its HDD group when the Storage setting is under Group Mode. 

4. Perform Database Rebuild locally. 

    • Some version above support Database Rebuild via web access - K51 and K72

    • Perform Database Rebuild regardless if system is having any database issue symptom. 

    • Database Rebuild process is average ~30 to 60min per TB. The process may still varies depends recording data.

    • After Database Rebuild - Check log to confirm Database Rebuild has went thru properly. 

    • If Database Rebuild Started and Stopped log has been log only within few minutes. Database rebuild may not has been completed properly. It is strongly recommend performing the Database Rebuild again.

    • To check log > System > Log > Information > Database Rebuild Started and Stopped.

    • If the log option is not available - access system via SSH can also obtain similar result.

5. Recording Data is still missing after database rebuild process. 

If the data has not been recorded or has been overwritten, Database rebuild process is not able retrieve those lost data. Have the system upgraded to the latest available firmware version above to prevent any future data lost is strongly recommended for all application.

 

 

 

 

In light of the global semiconductor shortage, Hikvision has made some hardware changes to the DS-76xxNI-Q1(2)/P NVRs, also known as “Q series.”

 

These changes do not have any effect on the performance, specifications, or the user interface of the NVRs. For the ease of reference, these modified units are known as “C-Version” units. This is clearly indicated on the NVR label and on the box by the serial number.

 

The only difference between the “C-Version” and “non-C-Version” is the firmware. The firmware is not interchangeable:

 

  • The C-Version NVRs must use firmware version v4.31.102 or higher.
  • The non-C-Version (Q series) NVRs must use firmware version v4.30.085 or older.

 

Please do not be alarmed if a “Firmware Mismatch” message pops up on the screen during the firmware upgrade. This simply means that the firmware does not match the NVR’s hardware. Simply download the correct firmware and the upgrade will go through without any issue.

In light of the global semiconductor shortage, Hikvision has made some hardware changes to the Value Express Series NVRs

These changes do not have any effect on the performance and specification of the recorders. For ease of reference, these modified units are known as “C-Version” units. This is clearly indicated on the NVR label and on the box by the serial number.

The only difference between the “C-Version” and “non-C-Version” is the firmware. The firmware is not interchangeable:

  • The C-Version NVRs must use firmware version v4.30.216 or higher.
  • The non-C-Version (Q series) NVRs must use firmware version v3.4.104 or older.

Please do not be alarmed if a “Firmware Mismatch” message pops up on the screen during the firmware upgrade. This simply means that the firmware does not match the NVR’s hardware. Simply download the correct firmware and the upgrade will go through without any issue.

By downloading and using software and other materials available via this website, you agree to be legally bound by HIKVISION General Terms of Use . If you don’t agree to these terms, you may not download or use any of those materials.

If you are agreeing on behalf of your company, you represent and warrant that you have legal authority to bind your company to the General Terms of Use above. Also you represent and warrant that you are of the legal age of majority in the jurisdiction in which you reside (at least 18 years of age in many countries).