Verkada Inc.
| Basic information | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2016 |
| Legal Structure | Private |
| Industry | Cameras, Security |
| Also known as | |
| Official website | https://www.verkada.com/ |
Verkada Inc. was founded in 2016 by Filip Kaliszan, and joined by James Ren, Benjamin Bercovitz, and Hans Robertson. Kaliszan, Ren and Bercovitz are all graduates of Stanford University where they created and sold their first company CourseRank. Hans Robertson was one of the co-founders of Meraki (acquired by Cisco in 2012.) The company is headquartered in San Mateo, California.[1]
Consumer-impact summary
User freedom/Business model
Verkada cameras are designed to be used with their cloud management web interface called Verkada Command and are not natively configured to use open and standard streaming protocols. To use or configure these products you must purchase valid Verkada annual licensing for each individual device. If your Verkada licensing becomes expired, hardware function and software access to the devices will be revoked. You will no longer be able to use or configure existing devices until licensing is restored.
"Customer must purchase one or more Licenses to use the Software for at least the number and type of Hardware units, Supported Third Party Devices, and/or Product Features that the Customer manages by means of the Software (collectively, “Valid Licensing”)... If Customer does not maintain Valid Licensing, then (i) Customer will have limited or no access to Customer Data, Product Features, and the Software, and (ii) the Hardware will not function as designed.
Verkada owns and retains all right, title, and interest in and to the Software and the System Data, and owns all intellectual property embodied in the Hardware and accessories."[2]
Incidents
Data breach
On March 8, 2021, Verkada was hacked by an international group including maia arson crime and calling themselves the "APT - 69420 Arson Cats," which gained access to their network for about 36 hours and collected about 5 gigabytes of data.[3]
Initially, it was reported that the scope of the incident included live and recorded security camera footage from more than 150,000 cameras.[4] It was later reported that 97 customers' video and images data were accessed with 4,530 cameras across these organizations which the attackers may have accessed.[5]
See also
References
- ↑ "About Verkada". Verkada. Archived from the original on 1 Jan 2026. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
- ↑ "Verkada End User Agreement". Verkada Legal Center. Archived from the original on 1 Jun 2025. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
- ↑ "Security camera hack exposes hospitals, workplaces, schools". SeattleTimes. 10 Mar 2021. Archived from the original on 28 Nov 2025. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
- ↑ "Hackers Breach Thousands of Security Cameras, Exposing Tesla, Jails, Hospitals". 9 Mar 2021. Archived from the original on 27 Jan 2026. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
- ↑ "Summary: March 9, 2021 Security Incident Report". Archived from the original on 20 Oct 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2025.