Signage Security

Whether we’re willing to admit it or not, signage stealing, vandalism and abuse occurs. We’ve heard instances of baseball bats taken to displays, media players getting ripped-off or even the occasional hacking incident where something inappropriate shows up on the digital displays. The issue of security can be attributed to both hardware and software issues. When we talk about hardware, we’re generally concerned with physical vandalism or theft. Software, on the other hand, usually brings some thoughts of ANONYMOUS taking control of our network for nefarious purposes.  Let’s discuss a few pointers of adherence on keeping secure for both hardware and software scenarios.

Hardware should be a more obvious fix and include things like:

• High and out-of-reach mounting, making the display difficult to touch without a ladder.
• Locking brackets for all components, including display and signage media player.
• Cabling that is inaccessible from view or access.

Ideally, an all-in-one digital sign would include many of these features, but there are many individual solutions as well. On the software side of things, typical encryption for the server, local firewall, player and wireless network (if one is being used) are all a necessary part of a typical digital signage deployment.

While a hardware security issue is perhaps the most immediately alarming issue that surfaces when you talk about signage security, it is by far the least expensive of your issues if someone is allowed to hack your server or player and display messages which could prompt suit or liability. That’s when things tend to get very expensive. Avoiding such expenses at the outset by having proper encryption and controls in place is helpful. We’ve not experienced such a hack ourselves, but here is at least one example. Luckily their motives were pure. Real problems can arise when a hacker is out for blood. Protecting yourself with the proper safety mechanisms is a must.