Digital Signage: How secure is your digital signage solution?

With the increasing popularity of digital signage and the Internet, the likelihood of your digital signage system being hacked or compromised is increasingly high.

To minimise and mitigate this risk, there are several technical security points to consider when implementing your digital signage solution:

Avoid using the default ports for common application protocols such as FTP (port 21) or web (80).
Don’t use common passwords such as “password” and “test”. Instead use passwords with numbers, and case sensitive characters which are harder for Brute Force password software tools to break and hack.
Rename or disable common login accounts. For example, in the Windows environment rename the “administrator” and “guest” accounts. For Unix, rename the “root” account.
Install Antivirus and Firewall software such as Trend Micro on your digital signage solution. This will prevent viruses and Trojans from getting into your digital signage network.
Ensure your Operating System, whether it’s Unix or Microsoft Windows has the latest software updates. There is a considerable amount of security vulnerabilities out there.
Physically locate your devices in a secure environment e.g. in a rack or a communications cabinet.
For wireless connectivity to your network, disable the wireless SSID and use the latest encryption methods such as WPA.
Don’t just use HTTP to manage or transmit files – this is an unsecured protocol and the login and password is transmitted using clear text. Use HTTPS, with at least 128 bit encryption.
If you have to manage multiple sites, don’t purely connect the digital signage players to the Internet, but instead setup VPNs (Virtual Private Network).

As more businesses are connecting their digital signage players to the Internet, these units will eventually be faced with many security issues and it will be up to the IT department to control, monitor and ensure their clients investment is secure.
As a final note, just remember that any device that is networked is hackable to some extent or another.

We would love to hear whether your digital signage solution has ever been hacked into or what security measures you are implementing in your digital signage solution.

To discuss this topic further, visit our digital signage forum entry.

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