Asset Management National Contractor Status - Avigilon Partner

Sonic Security Services have recently been awarded as main contractor for an asset management company nationwide for the supply and installation of HDSM Avigilon  

http://sonicsecurity.co.uk/AvigilonHDSM 

http://sonicsecurity.co.uk/Avigilon_Partner_Installers 

For more information please email sales@sonicsecurity.co.uk
 

Winter Holiday Opening Hours

We write to thank you for your continued Custom over the past year also to let you know when we will be closed over the Winter Holidays as noted below:

Wed 24/12/2014 Open until mid-day

Thu 25/12/2014 Closed

Fri 26/12/2014 Closed

Sat 28/12/2014 Closed

Mon 29/12/2014 Closed

Tue 30/12/2014 Closed

Wed 31/12/2014 Closed

Thu 01/01/2015 Closed

Fri 02/01/2015 Closed*

*As many Companies shall remain closed on this Friday we shall return Monday 05/01/2015.
All emergency calls over the Holiday period can be made to our Alarm Receiving Centre on our service call number 01908 658119 to request our duty Technician to attend your call-out request.*  For Customers that celebrate Xmas we wish a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  This year we are continuing our to support our local charity CRANSLEY HOSPICE.

*All emergency calls requested over the Holiday Periods will be subject to the current call-out rates for Winter Holidays.

Safe Driving in Fog

Safe Driving Over Winter and especially in Fog

We are approaching that time of year when visibility can be extremely dangerous.  While we wish all our Customer, Employees and Website Visitors happy holidays over the Winter period we should all take extra care driving of over the next few months.  A recent edition of the TV program Qi announced that Fog in the UK, especially in Greater London causes more fatalities than any other type of weather, due to vehicle driving crashes under extreme Fog conditions.

Taking precautions and knowing what to do when on the road can help reduce risk.  Fog dramatically reduces visibility, meaning motorists must reduce their speeds significantly to ensure the roads are safe for both themselves and other users.

Fog lights: The Highway Code states that headlights must be used when visibility is less than 100 metres – roughly the length of a football pitch. Those needing to travel are advised to take extra care and ensure their lights (particularly fog lights) are in good working order before setting off. Drivers should also carry a mobile phone with a fully-charged battery and car adaptor if available (together with contact numbers if not already stored on the phone), and should ensure that their fuel tank is full, as using lights and heating can use a lot more fuel than usual.

Please Drive Safe and Keep Alive.

For more information please visit the following websites.

www.rac.co.uk/advice/winter-driving/
http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/seasonal/winter_motoring.html

5 Ways to Protect Your IP System From Getting Hacked

Last March, the Crown Casino in Australia made international headlines after a group of high-rolling card players were able gain unauthorized access into the casino’s video surveillance system in order to cheat Crown out of $33 million in illegal winnings. Journalists were quick to compare the elaborate heist to the storyline of the 2001 feature film, Oceans 11, where Brad Pitt and George Clooney starred as the masterminds behind robbing a high-profile Las Vegas casino for $150 million.   

Given that Pitt and Clooney’s characters were perceived as the good guys in the movie – to whom the audience rallied behind to pull off the impossible - it was no surprise that the crime in Australia was glamorized and was taken lightly in the public eye.

While it is easy to dismiss the Australian casino heist, many people within the security industry were hit with the reality that new approaches needed to be taken with advanced technology. Making sure your IP surveillance system is secure from outside threats is vital no matter if you are a well-known Las Vegas casino or a privately owned retail store. We spoke to Michael Miller, the president of The Wire Guys, a surveillance system integrator based in the eastern United States, to discuss this topic. Miller came up with five ways end users can protect themselves from getting hacked.  

Use a Dedicated Network for Your Clients and Your Servers

Miller: I don’t know the particulars as far as the Australia casino heist, but if you have your security network on your same corporate network, which is tied to your wireless network, and if it’s all on the same subnet, it’s pretty wide open at that point. That would be my guess to what might have happened in Australia. It would be absolutely crazy for a casino to be set up like that if they were. But technically in a casino, just like in hospitals, everything is separate and dedicated. There’s absolutely no way to get to the cameras from their corporate network.

If their network is set up like that we will step in. But a lot of times, the IT departments are in control already, so they set the rules and regulations and we conform to what they recommend to us. What we would typically recommend is having a totally dedicated separate network. Separate switches, separate cables, separate everything. Even the client machines are on their own dedicated networks. Make it so that it's physically impossible to go from your corporate network to your camera network. That’s the best way to do it.

Change Your Passwords

Miller: Make sure you change all of your passwords on your cameras and your switches. You can use authentication on your network to make sure that only the devices that you want on your network are on your network. Those are the things that you would typically want to do.

From Remote Access Use Your VPN

Miller: There are two ways to give remote access to your system. The first option would be to open a hole in your firewall, or as we call it port-forwarding. The other option, which is more secure, would be to do a VPN access. So basically, from your mobile device, you can initiate a virtual private network back to your firewall which puts you on your network. That is much more secure than just opening up ports at that point. Then you have your username and password you have to enter for Avigilon’s ACC Mobile, so you have VPN and your username and password to get into the system.  

Don’t Use Your VMS server With Company Information on it – Dedicate a System for Surveillance

Miller: If you circumvent the VMS and go directly to the cameras, then you can see the live feeds. If you can get into the server, you can access recorded footage potentially delete recorded footage. Typically, especially the way we build system and the majority of companies that know what they are doing - you’re not going to share your surveillance system, with your SQL server, with you database with everybody’s AR department, you wouldn’t want to do it that way.

Check to See Who is Accessing Your Networks

Miller: Well Avigilon’s system can do that and most VMS’ can do that. It gets a lot trickier though if they're circumventing the VMS and going straight to the cameras. If you have a firewall in between, then you can track IP addresses and Mac addresses and see who’s accessing your network. And even some of the cameras have logs in them as well so you can see what IP address and what user would have accessed them.

Used with the permission of avigilon.com/connected.  

Introducing Fog Bandit, probably the best Security Fog system in the World !!

Revered by our clients...

Feared by criminals!

Fog Bandit is manufactured and distributed by a World leader in Security fog and has some of the fastest activation and deployment for Security Fog Systems.   

The unit comes complete with a full 5 year warranty (subject to service contract) and is certified to comply with EN-50131-8 Standard.  A full product range is available including remote controls, Panic Alarms and Automatic integration with Intruder Alarm systems.

Rental and Hire Purchase Options Available.

Please check out the following links

http://www.sonicsecurity.co.uk/Security-Fog-System-Installers

and for a real life case study

http://www.sonicsecurity.co.uk/bandit-case-study

Structured Cabling Page added to website

We have been providing structured cabling for over 20 years, from electrical to data cabling.  For many SMEs and larger Organisations your network cabling infrastructure is more important than ever; not only does it provide the steadfastedness for all your IT networking requirements, it is also now required to run Network Video Systems, Telephone Systems, Security Systems, Building Management Systems and many other IP functions and building management systems.

Contact us for the cost benefits from the extensive knowledge we have gained designing and delivering scalable structured cabling solutions.  http://www.sonicsecurity.co.uk/Structured_Cabling

Sonic supply Bushboard with security upgrade for CCTV and fire system

Mick from Bushboard with our recent upgrade of the CCTV system and fire system.

"Sonic Security is a local business to us who came up with a cost effective solution to our CCTV and fire alarm requirements. From first contact through design, installation and now service/maintenance they have conducted themselves in a professional manner and completed all works on time. The systems they have installed are up to date with the latest technology and are user friendly, with Sonic being local to us technical/site support is second to none"