Secure RTSP streaming

Streaming from the server to the viewer is now secure thanks to the widespread HTTPS protocol. But what if you want to secure the stream between camera and the server?

IP Cameras are using Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) to transport the media (video and audio) from the camera to the server. This protocol only encrypts the username and password (using digest authentication), but it uses the standard RTP protocol for transferring the media which protocol is not capable of securing the data.

IPCamLive supports SRTP protocol that is an extension of the RTP protocol to encrypt the video frames and audio data.

SRTP uses the same ciphers as HTTPS, typically AES with 128 bit key length. As AES uses a symmetric key, both the video producer and video consumer need to know the key.

This protocol is only supported by the major camera manufacturers (AXIS, Bosch, Hikvision, etc.), so first you need to check whether your camera supports this protocol or not.

Unfortunately, the implementation of this protocol is a little different among camera manufacturers.