Bypassing Surveillance Systems

(OBJ 2.4)

Methods to bypass Surveillance Systems

Some of the different methods used by attackers to bypass your organization's surveillance systems

• Visual Obstruction
  • Blocking the camera’s line of sight
  • Can involve the following
    • spraying paint or foam onto the camera lens
    • placing a sticker or tape over the lens
    • positioning objects like balloons or umbrellas in front of the camera to block its view
• Blinding Sensors and Cameras
  • Involves overwhelming the sensor or camera with a sudden burst of light to render it ineffective for a limited period of time
• Interfering with Acoustics
  • Acoustic systems are designed to listen to the environment to detect if someone is in the area or to eavesdrop on their conversations
  • Jamming or playing loud music to disrupt the microphone’s functionality
• Interfering with Electromagnetic
  • Electromagnetic Interference (EMI)
  • Involves jamming the signals that surveillance system relies on to monitor the environment
  • Use of EMI generators or jammers to to disrupt the radio frequencies systems use to communicate for detection
    • Example: WiFi Frequency band if the organization has a no wireless device inside the building type of policy
• Attacking the Physical Environment
  • Exploit the environment around the surveillance equipment to compromise their functionality
  • Cut systems power supply or sabotaging local transformers
  • Could start a fire which may distract from security focus
  • Physical tampering, like cutting wires or physically disabling devices, is an effective strategy to bypass surveillance systems
  • Requires the attacker to be closer to the device, which is risky

Modern equipment

• Modern systems are equipped with countermeasures to help protect surveillance systems
  • Tamper alarms
    • Notify security personnel if somebody attempts to physically tamper with those cameras
  • Backup power supplies/UPS
    • Some equipped with UPS or backup supplies to counter power-based attacks
  • Encrypt frequencies
    • Guard agains jamming or eavesdropping attack