Cloud-based surveillance solutions may be cheaper, more flexible and quick to deploy
By Sanjay Gupta
There have been several terror attacks in India in recent times. But one of them stands out: the Mumbai attacks of November 2008 in which the massacre of innocent lives went on for three days across places as varied as a bustling railway station, a roadside cafe and a couple of five-star hotels.
After condemnations and consolations in the wake of this attack began a large-scale rollout of surveillance cameras on public and private property. These were boosted by an equally large number of metal detectors and X-ray scanners.
Coupled with growing instances of terror and sabotage all over the globe, all these security contraptions now seem to have become an inconvenient truth for us. We must allow ourselves to be frisked, searched, X-rayed and monitored as much as the security agencies feel necessary. (It is another matter that in some of the budget-starved and intelligence-challenged situations—Delhi Police road checks, for instance—we must also bear the grossly irritating physical barriers put up with the intention of culling out culprits but which end up choking the already crawling traffic.)
On the face of it, these measures give us some assurance that security is being taken care of. But there is a bigger challenge that the agencies and CISOs face behind the scenes: What happens to all those images and impressions captured while people or vehicles were moving or passing through? How to store, retrieve, archive and mine all that humongous amount of data? Who looks at that data and when?
These and many more questions need to be answered by each organization aiming to make itself secure against unwanted intrusions and attacks.
As the next step, organizations must invest in storage, archival and analytical systems. After making their own assessment for requirements (I could not find any Indian legal guidelines for organizations on keeping surveillance data), they will need to acquire, install, maintain and use those systems.
One emerging possibility is to use cloud-based solutions, which may not only be cheaper but also be more flexible and quick to deploy. What is more, going the cloud way and partnering with a hosted solution provider can help solve the skill and support issues that several companies face.
Another challenge, especially for the government, will be to keep the installed base of cameras maintained and running. Vandalism and technical support problems continue to dog several installations. Also, with higher resolution and more efficient cameras now available, there would be a need for constant upgrade—at least in the more sensitive places where the quality of images is critical.
The first thing, of course, is to install the equipment: for one, as per a media report, the CST station in Mumbai is still awaiting those CCTV cameras even five years after the attacks.
– Sanjay Gupta
Editor, Express Computer
