A Fatal Security Flaw: Thieves Can Literally Steal the Evidence
I recently invested heavily in a professional 16-channel Hikvision system, but it has a fundamental, fatal flaw that every homeowner needs to understand before buying: it does not back up video to the cloud. Here is what that actually means in the real world. Let’s say a burglar breaks in at 3 AM whether you are at home asleep, or even away on holiday. The system detects them and sends a notification to your phone with a couple of still pictures. If you are asleep, or your phone is on silent, you miss it. Meanwhile, the thief unplugs your DVR and steals it. When you wake up, all you have are those still pictures. There is no moving video. Why? Because when you click the app to view the footage, your phone physically connects back to the DVR in your house to stream the video. If the criminal has already disconnected the box, your phone has nothing to connect to, and you see nothing. Even if you woke up in time to watch the video live on your phone, it doesn't save it—once the thief walks out with the DVR, your evidence is gone forever. What is the point of a high-end security system if a thief can just unplug it and erase their crime? A cheap £30 doorbell camera handles this better. The "Authorized" Dead End Hikvision operates behind an "Installer Only" wall, refusing to provide direct support to the people who actually pay for their products. You are forced to use an Authorized Installer, but the system is so poorly designed that my installer—even after consulting Hikvision’s own technical department—was completely unable to provide a working cloud video solution. The Expensive "Solution" I eventually found a workaround, but it means wiring ANOTHER box into the system (creating another potential point of failure). You have to spend £240 upfront on this box just to achieve cloud backup in the first place. On top of that, it costs around £5 per camera, per month to upload the alerts. For a 16-camera system, you are looking at £80 a month! Even for two or three cameras, it is wildly expensive for something that should simply be included with the base DVR. The Bait and Switch To add insult to injury, older Hikvision systems used to allow you to upload to Dropbox or Google for free. Hikvision intentionally disabled that system to push their own proprietary Cloud—but their cloud isn't even available. The Verdict There are plenty of amazing systems available these days. Don't make the same mistake as I did and find one that IS secure !!