CSC Surveillance & Monitoring Systems 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When designing a surveillance system for a retail environment, which camera placement strategy BEST deters shoplifting at point-of-sale terminals?
- Cameras aimed at store entrances only
- Overhead cameras angled to capture both the cashier's hands and the customer's face (Correct answer)
- Cameras mounted at floor level near registers
- Cameras placed exclusively in the stockroom
Correct answer: Overhead cameras angled to capture both the cashier's hands and the customer's face
Overhead cameras angled at POS terminals capture transaction activity including hand movements and customer identity, providing evidence for both theft and disputes.
Question 2: A client asks about the legal requirements for posting signage when deploying video surveillance in a US workplace. What is the BEST general guidance?
- Signage is never legally required in the US
- Many US states require visible notice of video surveillance in non-private areas (Correct answer)
- Federal law mandates specific sign dimensions and placement
- Signage is only required if audio is also being recorded
Correct answer: Many US states require visible notice of video surveillance in non-private areas
While no single federal law mandates workplace surveillance signage, numerous states have enacted notification requirements, and posting signs is considered a best practice to reduce legal liability.
Question 3: What is the MAIN security risk associated with using a cloud-based video storage service for surveillance footage?
- Higher image resolution than necessary
- Potential unauthorized access to footage if the provider is breached (Correct answer)
- Inability to access footage in real time
- Increased cabling costs
Correct answer: Potential unauthorized access to footage if the provider is breached
Cloud storage transfers control of sensitive footage to a third party, introducing risk of data breach at the provider level if access controls or encryption are inadequate.
Question 4: In the context of surveillance system design, what does 'field of view' (FOV) determine?
- The maximum distance a camera can transmit video wirelessly
- The area visible to the camera based on lens focal length and sensor size (Correct answer)
- The number of frames per second the camera can capture
- The camera's resistance to environmental conditions
Correct answer: The area visible to the camera based on lens focal length and sensor size
FOV is the angular extent of the scene captured by a camera, determined by the lens focal length and sensor size, and it dictates how much area a single camera can monitor.
Question 5: A security consultant is asked to recommend a retention period for surveillance footage in a high-security government facility. What factor should MOST influence this recommendation?
- Storage hardware cost alone
- Applicable regulations, incident investigation timelines, and organizational policy (Correct answer)
- The camera manufacturer's suggested default settings
- The resolution at which footage is recorded
Correct answer: Applicable regulations, incident investigation timelines, and organizational policy
Retention periods must be driven by legal/regulatory requirements, the typical duration between an incident and its discovery, and internal security policy rather than technical defaults.
Question 6: Which compression codec is MOST widely adopted for modern IP surveillance systems due to its balance of image quality and bandwidth efficiency?
- MJPEG
- H.264 (MPEG-4 AVC) (Correct answer)
- H.265 (HEVC)
- MPEG-2
Correct answer: H.264 (MPEG-4 AVC)
H.264 remains the most widely deployed codec in IP surveillance because it delivers good image quality at manageable bitrates and is supported by virtually all cameras and VMS platforms.
Question 7: What is 'video analytics' as applied to surveillance systems?
- Manual review of recorded footage by security officers
- Automated software analysis of video to detect defined events or behaviors (Correct answer)
- Compression algorithms that reduce storage requirements
- The process of calibrating camera focus and zoom
Correct answer: Automated software analysis of video to detect defined events or behaviors
Video analytics uses algorithms — including AI-based approaches — to automatically detect events such as perimeter intrusion, object abandonment, or crowd density changes without continuous human monitoring.
CSC Surveillance & Monitoring Systems 3
When designing a surveillance system for a retail environment, which camera placement strategy BEST deters shoplifting at point-of-sale terminals?