NewB question about securing cheap Chinese Xiongmai system

kevink5516

kevink5516

n3wb
May 29, 2022
3
0
CA
Hi all,

I'm new to the world of IP cams. I was GIVEN a cheap NVR + 4 POE camera system that I'm now trying to figure out what to do with; so please don't bash me for having bad insecure hardware because I normal research the hell out of stuff like this before buying my own equipment.

The system is a Wesecuu/Noahtec NVR and camera package from Amazon. After doing some research I'm pretty sure this is just another rebrand of Xiongmai Tech equipment that has been subject to a lot of scrutiny for years for security issues.

I'm still considering installing the system at my house for exterior use only but have some questions:
1. I haven't found much recently posted info about Xiongmai or the XMeye app. Are these still just as sketchy and concerning of products as they used to be a few years back when the news broke about their hackability?
2. If I configure a VLAN for a port of my router and connect the NVR to this port will this protect the rest of my home network in the event of someone hacking the Wesecuu system?
3. Are there any other apps that could be used to remotely view the camera feeds other than XMeye?

To be completely honest I'm not really too concerned about someone being able to hack in and view the camera feeds themselves due to the insecurities of the P2P system. I'll probably only be installing 3 of the 4 cameras and 99.5%of the time they'll be showing absolutely nothing of interest like my garbage cans and side yard gate. So my main concern is just keeping the rest of my home network and devices safe and isolated from vulnerability. Thanks in advance for any help and advice!
 
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Plug it in on the table and hook up a couple cams, try the App. See how much hassle it might be before you mount anything.
let it run a for a few days and see if the App even works, or if it's even been updated (ever). some of these things are just one headache after another, in terms of usability.
 
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Flintstone61 said:
Plug it in on the table and hook up a couple cams, try the App. See how much hassle it might be before you mount anything.
let it run a for a few days and see if the App even works, or if it's even been updated (ever). some of these things are just one headache after another, in terms of usability.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advice. I do have it just running in my office currently but in an offline mode only. I haven't connected it to my router yet or done the app setup since I wasn't sure if I should try and do any type of extra protection like a VLAN first before brining it online
 
Hi Kevin welcome to The forum.

At the minute you say you have it running on the bench in your office. This is the most secure way of using it as it's in total isolation ( wan and lan side ) of everything else. It's fine and probably preferable to install and keep it like this. Just because if can go online doesn't mean it has too

The problem of security arises when you need or want remote access / alerts etc. If you really must have remote access its adviced to use a vlans and a vpn.

Some here also use an app tinycampro which may be an option. I'll let others more familiar advise on this.

Good luck
 
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EVERY camera and NVR is hackable. Even top of the line AXIS was compromised in the past month or so.

Security cameras ironically are very poor at internet security.

They are not hacking it to see your video - they are hacking it to get into the rest of your system and steal bank stuff and use your internet for bot attacks.

Best advice is to keep them off the internet and VPN back into your home system to review the cams.

Most here use OpenVPN as it is built into many routers. This is a free VPN. A paid VPN will not work as that is for illegal streaming and porno.
 
Thanks for the advice everyone. If I go with the VPN route for remote access is it still possible to get notifications/alerts from the system to a phone or is this functionality forfeited unless you use the NVR's native app? We just moved our first child into her own room at the front of the house while our master bedroom is in the rear of the house so my wife is really keen on having something to notify us during the night if something is happening at the front of the house.
 
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kevink5516 said:
Thanks for the advice everyone. If I go with the VPN route for remote access is it still possible to get notifications/alerts from the system to a phone or is this functionality forfeited unless you use the NVR's native app?
Click to expand...

Depends how the app works. Generally, with the VPN it's as if you're a client on your local network.

Some functionality may vary depending on whether you have the VPN active or not. e.g., With BI you get alerts without the VPN but no vid clips. With VPN connected you get the clips. Also can setup to use SMS, email, PushOver, etc. to get alerts which will work without VPN active.
 
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