The Risks of Opening Ports on Your Video Surveillance Network (and How to Avoid Them)

In any connected video surveillance installation, sooner or later the same question comes up: how do I connect my equipment with the outside world? This usually comes down to two scenarios: remote access to cameras or the VMS from outside the local network, and —even more critically— connecting the equipment to the Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC), which needs to receive events and alarms generated by the installation reliably and continuously.

In both cases the traditional answer has almost always been the same: open ports on the router or firewall to allow the incoming connection. However, this is a solution that also opens a door —literally— to risks that often go unnoticed until it’s too late.

What does “opening ports” mean, and why is it done?

Opening a port means configuring a network’s router or firewall to allow incoming connections from the internet to a specific device, such as an IP camera, a recorder, or a VMS server. In other words, it’s the classic way of making a device remotely accessible —or able to communicate with external services like an ARC— without needing to be physically on the same network.

As a result, once this is done, the device stops being “hidden” behind the router and becomes visible —and potentially reachable— from anywhere on the internet.

The main risks of having open ports

Public exposure of the device. An open port turns a camera, recorder, or VMS server into a resource visible from the internet at large, not just to authorized personnel. As a result, the longer it remains exposed, the greater the risk window, regardless of whether an incident ultimately occurs.

Unauthorized access. If the device’s credentials are weak, still set to factory defaults, or reused across multiple devices, an open port makes it easier for someone without authorization to get into the system.

Dependence on the device’s update status. Like any software, camera, recorder, and VMS firmware receives security updates over time. Therefore, devices that are exposed and not kept up to date remain more vulnerable to known weaknesses being exploited.

Gateway to the rest of the network. Compromised video surveillance devices are rarely the final target. Instead, they are usually the foothold used to reach other systems on the same network: servers, workstations, management systems.

Risk to third parties. A compromised device doesn’t only put its owner at risk: historically, poorly protected cameras and recorders have been used to launch attacks on other systems without the owner ever knowing.

Why video surveillance is an especially attractive target

Unlike a computer or a server, video surveillance devices tend to fly under the IT department’s radar: they’re installed by an integrator, remain operational for years, and rarely receive firmware updates or periodic security reviews. Consequently, that combination —exposed to the internet, poorly maintained, and with weak credentials— makes them one of the weakest links in any network.

If you can’t avoid opening ports: basic mitigations

When opening ports is unavoidable, there are measures that reduce (though don’t eliminate) the risk:

• Use a VPN instead of exposing the port directly to the internet. It’s one of the most common and effective alternatives; however, its setup and maintenance are not trivial: they require advanced networking and IT knowledge (managing tunnels, certificates or keys, addressing, clients on each end…), which isn’t always within reach of a standard installation or the staff maintaining it.
• Restrict access by source IP on the firewall, instead of leaving it open to any IP.
• Change default ports and, above all, factory credentials.
• Keep the firmware updated on cameras, recorders, and VMS.
• Segment the network used for video surveillance from the rest of the corporate infrastructure.

Portless: eliminating the risk at its root

The most effective alternative isn’t to mitigate the risk of having open ports, but to eliminate the need to open them in the first place. That’s why DFUSION /3 includes Portless Connectivity: an architecture that establishes the connection with equipment —both for remote access and for communication with the ARC— without needing to open any port on the network or have a static IP.

This means the device is never exposed to the internet: there’s no open port to locate or attack directly from outside, because the exposure surface disappears.

In addition, Portless is fully compatible with restrictive IT policies where opening ports is limited or prohibited, and it works without restrictions even with network providers where configuring this is complex — for example, Orange or Starlink.

More information about Portless Connectivity

Conclusion

Opening ports has for years been the standard way to connect video surveillance equipment to the outside world and to the ARC, but it’s also one of the main sources of security risk. Classic mitigations —starting with VPN— reduce that risk; however, they come at the cost of a complex setup that requires advanced networking and IT knowledge.

DFUSION /3’s Portless Connectivity solves the problem at its root: it not only removes the need to open ports —and with it the exposure surface—, but it also does so without complex configurations or network intervention. In fact, connecting equipment, both for remote access and for sending alarms to the ARC, is established simply, securely, and reliably, even in environments with restrictive IT policies or providers where other solutions don’t work.

Frequently asked questions