Many security cameras in Haifa do not work properly

(haipo) - A large percentage of the security cameras in Haifa do not work as required. Last night the finance committee approved an urgent initial budget to start the project of organizing the security of the camera network.

The security camera system in the city is not operational as required. The finance committee yesterday (Sun. 19/3/23) approved an urgent initial budget in the amount of one million shekels to start a project to organize and secure the camera network.

The Chief of Operations at the Haifa Municipality, Ohad Dorfman, and the VP of Technologies and Information Systems, Shushi Labi, submitted a request for the approval of an urgent initial budget to the Finance Committee, the purpose of which is to start the project of organizing and securing a network of cameras. The amount of the requested budget is one million shekels.

This request comes against the background of the letter of the director of the Security and Emergency Services Department in the Haifa Municipality, Yair Zilberman, from the beginning of March, in which he warns that the security camera system in the city is not working as required. In his letter, Zilberman stated that on 2/3/23, 38% of the cameras (180 in number) were not observed. and that on 3/3/23 41% of the cameras (191 in number) were not observed.

The finance committee approved, as mentioned, the budget, and tomorrow (Tuesday 21/3/23) the budget is supposed to receive the approval of the city council.

In the request for an initial-urgent budget it is written:
Following Pelican-Tech's inspection of the network and security systems in the municipality and the presentation of the findings at a meeting chaired by the mayor that took place on 15/12/22, the urgent need to plan and reorganize this network and close the serious information security gaps that exist in it was raised. According to the plan that was built, a budget of NIS 1.4 million is required to carry out an organization and security project for the entire network and security systems for 3 years.

A budget of one million shekels for the first year is included in the budget proposal for 2023. In parallel with the gaps in information security, there is an urgent need to upgrade the existing firewall in the camera network - due to it being very old equipment, without support, with a very narrow bandwidth, which does not allow continuous viewing of cameras and recordings when investigating criminal incidents, and therefore constitutes " A serious "bottleneck" that affects municipal operations. In addition, in the last year and a half, 186 cameras and announcement systems were added in the gardens and in the urban public open spaces, and another 41 cameras are on the way to be installed. This increase in the number of cameras has naturally created a media load, which requires an urgent response as part of the security improvements. Therefore, and due to these urgent needs, an urgent start-up of the project is required immediately, in order to provide a solution to these needs, which cannot be delayed until the 2023 budget is approved.

The urgent needs that must be carried out immediately and for which an initial budget approval is required:
Network expert service for redesigning the security network, defining the required secure architecture, including examining the servers before transferring them to the municipality's server room. Estimated cost of about NIS 80,000.
Expert service for server infrastructure rooms, copying the computing equipment, servers and computers located in the communication room of Moked Haro', to the municipal server room, including correcting defects to a proper standard. Estimated cost of about NIS 50,000.

Characterization and purchase of two firewalls: 600F Fortigate + 200F Internet access firewall for the purpose of protecting the security network against attacks and providing real-time alerts. Two are required for redundancy. Estimated cost to purchase about NIS 400,000. This cost includes maintenance and licensing for 3 years + analyzer. Purchasing a product to update and distribute software centrally on the network, regularly and automatically for routine security. Estimated cost to purchase about NIS 12,000.

Virus-Anti software for protection, detection and deletion of viruses in the security network. Estimated cost to purchase about NIS 6,000. Purchase of the Endpoint Detection and Response system - EDR a tool for detecting abnormal behavior and loopholes, risk assessment, immediate response, investigation and handling of security incidents. Necessary for the security network, due to the large geographical spread of the cameras. Estimated cost for purchase is about NIS 12,000. Purchase of the NAC system - Control Access Network - for blocking foreign communication connections to the security network and preventing people with malicious intentions from entering the network. Estimated cost for purchase is about NIS 100,000.

Purchase and renewal of communication equipment and workstations - renewal and replacement of old equipment that is not supported, such as: communication equipment, workstations and operating equipment. Estimated cost of about NIS 50,000.
CA services for the establishment of the secure network, which include: the service of a technical person system IT admin and implements information security for ongoing IT maintenance including security products. Estimated cost for about 10 days a month for the coming year is about NIS 250,000. The support of the system providers - a bank of hours for work with external providers who manage the various systems in the security network. Estimated cost of NIS 40,000.

In total, an initial budget of approximately NIS 1,000,000 is required for the purpose of promoting an immediate response to the urgent needs within the project for the organization and security of the security camera network.