CCTV Outages and How to Report Them

October 24, 2024

We’ve likely all been there, right? You’ve just bought a new computer or phone, made certain it was installed correctly, following every bit of instruction down to the letter. And then, you let it be, hoping this new bit of technology is just as easy as it advertises on the box.

And yet, there it is–the telltale ERROR message that has you spending hours online, trying to figure out what exactly went wrong and what you need to do to fix it.

The fact is that technology isn’t foolproof, regardless of how seamless it claims to be, and even if it’s installed correctly, there is always a chance that it may fail at some point or another.

So, what do you do when this technology happens to be the Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) that is required by your NAID AAA Certification? What should be your next step when there is a loss of data or outage outside of your control?

Well, thankfully, the i-SIGMA Certification team has a contingency for this exact situation so that you and your facility can avoid any issues with regards to maintaining your certification should this untimely event happen in the future.

But first, let’s start by both defining what is expected of a NAID AAA Certification with regards to CCTV monitoring and what an outage would look like.

CCTV Coverage and Outages

To be found in compliance with NAID AAA standards, all Facility-based operations are required to have a CCTV system that monitors all access points into the secure building/area in which confidential material is received, staged, processed and/or destroyed. Additionally, there should be enough clarity and lighting to identify both the people within frame as well as their activities, and recordings of these activities must be retained for 90 consecutive days.

Conversely, an outage of CCTV coverage is considered by NAID AAA Certification standards to be any issue that would result in a loss of data within this timeframe. As in, anything that causes the CCTV to lose footage or become corrupted? That would be an outage!

So, I Have Experienced an Outage. What Next?

If you happen to notice an outage of your CCTV coverage, the solution is simple; although, you must act fast! To still be considered NAID AAA compliant, you must provide notice of the outage to i-SIGMA’s Certification staff within 48 hours of its discovery.

You can do this either by calling any of our Certification staff (602-788-6243) or emailing the Certification inbox. Then, a Certification staff member will note this in our system so that any auditors are aware of the outage, and it will not be counted against you in a future audit.

Additionally, this outage procedure must be outlined in your policies and procedures to be considered in full compliance.

It’s that simple, really! By following these procedures, your business can proudly maintain its certification status without being at the mercy of technology’s failures and avoid any fines that may come alongside it.

Written by: Victoria Vale, i-SIGMA Certification Associate