Huawei Cloud Surveillance Systems Remain Reliable in the Face of a Global Ransomware Attack

Is your computer infected today?

Source: https://securelist.com/blog/incidents/78351/wannacry-ransomware-used-in-widespread-attacks-all-over-the-world/

Or even if your computer luckily defends against this attack, your antivirus software continuously alerts you to the full intrusion of this attack.

On the morning of May 12, 2017, the WannaCry ransomware spread globally, affecting the UK, the US, Russia, China, and eventually over 150 countries. Dedicated networks of government institutions, large enterprises, and college campuses were among the targets of the attack.

Globally, video surveillance systems designed to ensure public safety and security have also been seriously affected by the virus.

According to reports, normal services across dedicated public security networks in China have been hit by the attacks. Video surveillance platforms connected to thousands of cameras have been affected, leaving many blind spots in public safety and security surveillance. Video surveillance vendors have since urged public security departments to shut down video surveillance systems temporarily for patches to be applied and the integrity of networks restored.

How can you prevent such problems before they happen?

The ransomware affects only machines running on Windows. Because Huawei's Video Cloud Node (VCN) and Video Content Management platform (VCM) run on Linux, they have not been affected by these large-scale cyber-attacks. As a result, the system has maintained normal operation.

In addition to running on Linux, Huawei's video surveillance cloud platform is equipped with mechanisms to defend against ransomware and other cyber-attacks, ensuring system safety and security. These mechanisms include:

1.    Security hardening for Linux

Cyber-attackers gain access to operating systems through insufficiently protected ports. Huawei has disabled the ports that are not required, minimizing the risk of attack.

2.    Removal of root user operations

Service systems run the corresponding program to remove root user operations and minimize file permissions. If the system is attacked, this mechanism minimizes potential damage by preventing the attack to the system and network from becoming more embedded.

3.    Hierarchical key mechanism

Sensitive information has been encrypted. Non-reversible passwords are iterated 10000 times using Pbkdf2, and reversible passwords are encrypted using AES256+iv. Furthermore, the system uses a hierarchical key management mechanism, so even if the encrypted information is disclosed, it cannot be decoded.

4.    End-to-end channel and media protection

Security modules are embedded into the IPCs, network devices, and video surveillance platforms. End-to-end secure channels are established from the front-end IPC to the platform. The media files and image data are encrypted, helping to ensure channel security while protecting the content.

Video surveillance systems running Windows are now highly vulnerable to the WannaCry ransomware attacks, posing a threat to public safety and security. Starting May 13, Huawei has been helping video surveillance customers migrate services and ensure the safety and security of their network and systems.