The World’s First Surveillance Camera Day!
News and information from the Advent IM team.
- by Ellie Hurst
- Advent IM Blog
As you will be aware, our MD, Mike Gillespie has been acting as Cyber Security adviser to Tony Porter, The Surveillance Camera Commissioner on a pro bono basis, for some time. So of course we are delighted to help the Commissioner share the news of the inaugural Surveillance Camera Day and its launch at IFSEC this year.
The world’s first surveillance camera day
As part of the National Surveillance Camera Strategy for England and Wales the Surveillance Camera Commissioner is holding the World’s first Surveillance Camera Day on 20 June.
The purpose of the day is to raise public awareness about the provision and operation of surveillance cameras and to enhance public debate. In doing so it will encourage conversations that will help inform policy-makers and service providers regarding societally acceptable surveillance practices and legitimacy for surveillance camera systems that are delivered in line with society’s needs.
There will be a number of different elements to the day. The Commissioner is encouraging surveillance camera control centres to throw their ‘doors open’ so that the public can see, first hand, how they operate. To complement the doors open initiative a number of surveillance camera operators will be publishing a surveillance camera factsheet, setting out the basic facts of their system, including what it is designed to do, and the number of cameras.
The Commissioner will also be launching a ‘secure by default’ standard for manufacturers at the IFSEC International Conference in London. Where manufacturers meet the new standard it will ensure that the default settings of a product are the most secure settings possible. This means they are much less likely to be vulnerable to cyber attacks.
More information about the day will be made available over the coming weeks and anyone who wants to get involved should get in touch with the Surveillance Camera Commissioner’s Office.
Tony Porter, Surveillance Camera Commissioner, said:
Surveillance Camera Day is a world first. The UK is sometimes referred to as ‘the most surveilled country on the planet’. I want to start a conversation about how surveillance cameras are used, why they’re used and who is using them. Cameras are used to keep people safe but new and emerging technology can lead to greater infringements to our civil liberties. Civil engagement is a key strand of the national surveillance camera strategy and I want people who use cameras to shine a light on what they do – how they’re using cameras to protect communities not spy on them.
Ends
Press enquiries:
Surveillance Camera Commissioner
Mick Kelly
Email: mick.kelly3@sccommissioner.gov.uk
Tel: 020 7035 8516
Mob: 07799 347655
Centre for Research into Information, Surveillance and Privacy
Professor William Webster
Email: william.webster@stir.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1786 467359
Notes to editors:
- The Surveillance Camera Commissioner is appointed by the Home Secretary but independent from government.
- More than £2 billion per annum is spent on video surveillance in the UK.
- The National Surveillance Camera Strategy for England and Wales is comprised of 11 work strands led pro bono by industry experts:
- Professor William Webster, Director of the Centre for Research into Information, Surveillance and Privacy (CRISP) and Professor of Public Policy and Management at the University of Stirling leads the civil engagement strand of the national strategy and is leading on arrangements for Surveillance Camera Day.
- IFSEC International is the biggest security exhibition in Europe which takes place over three days at London ExCeL (18 – 20 June).