Stolen Cameras & Cloud Backup

[WelbecSecurity]

I had 2 MV21’s stolen from my building on New Years Eve. They were ripped right off of walls and now I can’t even access my cloud to see who was in building or images of who snuck in behind cameras as my provider Shaw business doesn’t have a deal set up to have my videos and motion alerts archived. Now my company is being charged $3000 on our 2 cameras to have them replaced. Or being forced to put on our insurance

is there a way we can still access videos on these “smart cameras” that hold their own memory on an archive or can I hook up a hard drive to central location for these type of issues in the future?

[PhilipDAth · Accepted solution]

The cloud archiving is quite expensive (IMHO), but it is available.  You could consider perhaps putting it on one of the replacement cameras (as opposed to both to save money).

https://documentation.meraki.com/MV/Storing_Video/MV_Cloud_Archive 

Another option is to put one of the cameras up high out of reach.

If your insurance doesn't cover theft then I don't see the point of it.  Claim it on the insurnance.  That is what it is for.  With any luck you'll be able to get the newer MV22 models.  The newer MV22's have more advanced motion search as well, plus you would also gain the motion recap feature.

https://documentation.meraki.com/MV/Viewing_Video/Motion_Search_and_Motion_Recap 

I think I would enable motion alerts on the stolen cameras that cover the entire frame.  That way if the thief plugs them in you'll get an email and a picture of what the camera is seeing.  You should also be able to get the IP address it connected from, which the Police should be able to use to narrow down to a specific address via the ISP.

https://documentation.meraki.com/MV/Advanced_Configuration/Motion_Alerts 

[WelbecSecurity]

The cameras are leased through Shaw Cable and installed by them. My company just pays a monthly lease, so should be their responsibility. 
I have set up the motions on stolen cameras now to get images and ip if plugged in, hoping they do unless they were ripped out just in spite by criminals 

can I back system up to an enclosed hard drive? What are my options? 

[PhilipDAth]

>The cameras are leased through Shaw Cable and installed by them

I'm not from your country or familiar with Shaw's lease agreement - but typically lease agreements require you to have the kit insured..  It is part of your lease obligations.

>can I back system up to an enclosed hard drive? What are my options? 

You can't back up to any other hard drive.  Your only option is to use cloud archive.

[Uberseehandel]

As @PhilipDAth points out - this isn't a great leasing deal.

In future, I'd try and do a deal with a neighbour to share access to coverage of each other's premises. This way you would have something for the police.

However, it is well known that video cameras do not deter vandals and criminals. They only assist in prosecutions, after the event.

[Priesty]

Did you have motion alerts setup on the cameras with motion recap? you would have received an email showing you what happened in the frame.

Otherwise, no without the cloud backup license you will have no way of retrieving this footage.

My other question however, how did they rip them off the wall? Were they installed correctly because if they were installed correctly this wouldn't be an easy task by all means.

[PhilipDAth]

>Were they installed correctly because if they were installed correctly this wouldn't be an easy task by all means.

Give me 15s and a crow bar and I'll get a properly mounted security camera off the wall.

[WelbecSecurity]

We are definitely thinking now they weren’t installed securely enough and motion alerts weren’t set up.

i was new to these systems and wasn’t advised well enough unfortunately 

[GeorgeB]

Sorry to hear this happened to you @WelbecSecurity Please keep the cameras in the dashboard and don't remove the serial numbers. This means if they ever come back online you can access the recording remotely.

The MV71 or MV72 cameras are the Meraki cameras designed to resist significant attacks through their IK10 and IK10+ ratings. The MV21 is not as resilient to attack due to it's lighter weight construction that allows for it to be mounted to ceiling tiles and other areas where weight can be an issue.

I recommend you raise a support case with Shaw and ask them to escalate it to Meraki for my attention (George Bentinck). I will see what we can do to help you get back up and running again.

[GeorgeB]

As an FYI I had to remove a reluctant MV71 without the correct security driver. I can tell you it takes a load of effort to get that thing down. Needless to say this took a while, made a load of noise, and required using an angle grinder on a ladder. Something most criminals are unlikely to bother with.