by Brianna Crandall — January 15, 2020 — Dahua Technology, a global manufacturer of video surveillance products, announced in recent months a strategic partnership with Pepper, an Internet of Things (IoT) platform-as-a-service, to allow the integration of its intelligent solutions into Dahua hardware.
Pepper’s US-based platform powers connected devices around the world, delivering highly secure and private connected services via enterprise partnerships. Pepper’s platform-as-a-service approach caters to global consumer electronics manufacturers, consumer brands, and service providers that aim to harness the benefits of IoT by delivering high-value and on-brand IoT services to end users. Pepper’s turnkey service includes device firmware, highly secure cloud hosting and intuitive user interface designs.
Products manufactured by China-based Dahua Technology, including video surveillance equipment, network cameras, recorders and other critical security video hardware components, are widely used in more than 180 countries and regions all over the world. Dahua Technology is committed to ongoing innovation and ensuring that its capabilities stay ahead of the market.
Scott Ford, CEO of Pepper, explains that the new partnership addresses an “uneasiness,” particularly in the US market, regarding the use of foreign-manufactured consumer-grade IoT devices and the ability to keep data private and secure. (The Pepper website refers to an Abacus News article, “Are smart devices sending data to China?”, to describe the issue.) To Ford’s knowledge, Dahua is the first Asian-based device manufacturer to say, “‘I want an intermediary in my device, so I’m not implicated in accessing any data,’” he said.
Currently, the IoT market is unregulated when it comes to security and privacy, creating a lingering threat that foreign companies could access data exchanged on their devices and platforms. But Pepper is playing the middleman, so to speak. All of the data and video communications on Dahua’s devices sold in North America will be contained to Pepper’s US-based platform, ensuring security and responsible handling of the end-user’s information, Ford said.
Tim Wang, general manager of Dahua USA, remarked:
Dahua Technology is pleased to bring its market-leading physical security manufacturing expertise to our partnership with Pepper. By integrating with Pepper’s platform-as-a-service, Dahua Technology’s hardware becomes part of a comprehensive, secure, and feature-based service framework.
Dahua devices will be preconfigured to operate seamlessly on the Pepper IoT platform. For Dahua products distributed in the US, all data and video communications will be contained in the United States and held to Pepper’s stringent cybersecurity and data privacy standards.
For Dahua Technology’s corporate customers, the Pepper partnership provides access to a set of platform and software capabilities designed to deliver video as well as non-video IoT services to end-users. Because video is a critical application in IoT surveillance, Pepper is designed to bring quality, security, and privacy advantages otherwise lacking in today’s market.
Pepper’s full-stack approach not only ensures optimal system quality and end-user experience, but also functions to prevent sensitive data and user video from being accessed or redirected by the device manufacturer or third parties.
Pepper CEO Ford noted:
It is concerning to see millions of vulnerable connected video and non-video devices being distributed to US consumers who are unaware how their personal data is being compromised – and how easy it is for hackers to access their home wi-fi networks through these devices. We are pleased that Dahua is deploying the Pepper full-stack approach to protect against unauthorized access and redirection of data.
For more information about the integration, see “KC IoT startup lands strategic partnership with worldwide leader” in the Kansas City Business Journal, and visit the Dahua Technology US website or the Pepper website.
