Codecs connected to the internet can be accessed by anyone with knowledge of the codec's public IP address. In addition, search engines are widely available which can discover and expose unsecured 'internet connected devices'. Tieline recommends the following IP codec security precautions are followed as a bare minimum, to ensure your codec connections remain secure.

 

Maintaining Codec Network Security

Adequate security is a major factor in ensuring your codecs and your broadcast network remain secure. There are several layers of security available in Tieline codecs to maintain secure connections. These include:

 

1.Immediately change the default password when you commission and install your codecs (see instructions which follow). Create a strong password which includes both capital and lower case letters, symbols and numbers (up to 15 characters can be entered). Password managers can be useful when managing multiple passwords within organizations.

2.Ensure your codec is behind a firewall and only open the TCP and UDP ports required to transmit session and audio data between your codecs. Using non-standard ports instead of Tieline default ports can also ensure the codec is more difficult to discover by nefarious characters.

3.Ports 80 and 8080 are commonly used to access the Tieline codec web server. You can add an additional layer of security by translating these ports on the WAN side of your network into non-standard port numbers. Adjust ports using the Options panel in the Toolbox HTML5 Web-GUI, or see Configuring TCP/UDP Ports.

4.By default SIP interfaces are disabled to avoid unwanted traffic. The SIP Filter Lists panel in the Toolbox HTML5 Web-GUI allows filtering of SIP URIs and User Agents to provide greater security when using SIP. See Configure SIP White and Blacklists for more information.

5.An SSL security certificate can be installed on each codec in your network to ensure it is a trusted device within your network. See Installing a Security Certificate for more information.

 

Be sure to document any port changes because this information will be required if you need to contact Tieline or other online support services.

 

Changing the Default Password

The default password for the Toolbox Web-GUI is password. Enter this in the authentication dialog to use the Web-GUI initially and then Tieline highly recommends changing the default password to protect your codec from being tampered with during live broadcasts. Note: In the HTML5 Web-GUI authentication dialog it is necessary to enter admin as the User Name.

 

Toolbox HTML5 Web-GUI Login Dialog on a Merlin Codec

 

Creating a New Password

The authentication login password can be changed at any time using the codec keypad and LCD screen. Note that passwords are case sensitive:

 

1.Press the SETTINGS button.

2.Use the navigation buttons to select WebGUI and press the button.

3.Select Password and press .

4.Use the KEYPAD to enter a new password and press the button to save the new setting (Note: there is no character limit for passwords).

 

If you forget the password for the Toolbox web-GUI then you can always press the SETTINGS button on the codec and navigate to WebGUI to view the current password and change it if required.