Mike Newton, Chairman and Chief Technology Officer at NetVu, discusses how decades of innovation in surveillance has shaped his vision for solutions that are resilient, compliant and built to meet real‑world needs.

Could you introduce yourself and your role at NetVu?

I’m Mike Newton, Chairman and Chief Technology Officer at NetVu.

My career in surveillance began more than four decades ago and today I continue to lead in the business’s technology direction and strategy.

My role is about ensuring our products are not only at the cutting edge of surveillance capability but also fundamentally aligned with the real-world needs of the organisations that rely on them.

At NetVu, we deliver trusted, resilient, cyber-secure solutions – from security surveillance through Dedicated Micros IP systems to specialist platforms such as FireVu for accurate fire detection and verification and TransVu for transport surveillance.

Our philosophy is to empower users to make informed decisions, whether on-site or in the cloud.

Your journey began with an undergraduate project in 1981 that evolved into Dedicated Micros. How did that early commercial breakthrough influence your long-term vision for the security industry?

What started as a university project in 1981 quickly became Dedicated Micros, a company that fundamentally reshaped video surveillance.

The first major milestone was the video multiplexer, enabling multiple camera feeds to be recorded and displayed simultaneously on a single screen, an innovation that had not been done before.

The Digital Sprite came to market in the late 1990s, a pioneering digital video recorder (DVR) demonstrating that digital recording could be both reliable and scalable.

These breakthroughs taught me that innovation must solve real-world problems, making systems that are both ground-breaking and usable.

This approach continues to drive NetVu today.

Whether it’s through our flagship cyber-secure IP solutions under the Dedicated Micros brand, FireVu or TransVu, our technology is practical to the job it’s been built for and designed to do.

How does being British and using your own code provide an advantage from a regulatory compliance and data protection standpoint?

Owning our entire intellectual property (our software is written and developed in the UK) is a cornerstone of our strategy.

Our NetVu Connected software stack – the architecture that underpins all of NetVu’s solutions – is built on our secure embedded OS, so we can guarantee full code provenance.

There are no unknown third-party dependencies and no opaque supply chain risks.

This level of sovereignty is increasingly critical in heavily regulated industries, where customers demand transparency and complete control.

It’s this confidence that the technology is designed, manufactured and supported under UK governance with a secure, accountable codebase that sets us apart.

NetVu has a rich history of pioneering surveillance technologies. How has the approach to cybersecurity evolved within your products and what were some pivotal moments in that journey?

Cyberattacks and cybersecurity weren’t a consideration in the early 1980s.

But as soon as surveillance systems became networked, starting with local networks and extending to IP connectivity, the need for security was unavoidable.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, when IP video began to accelerate, we recognised that cybersecurity needed to be baked into the architecture, not an afterthought to add on later.

We moved from analogue systems that were inherently true ‘closed circuit’ television to an IP world built on a much more open, ‘www-style’ architecture designed for global communication and multi-user access.

That shift unlocked huge benefits but also introduced far greater exposure to risk.

Our proprietary NetVu Connected streaming technology addresses these challenges by making video transmission more efficient, resilient and reliable, even over poor connectivity, with built-in error correction and bandwidth optimisation.

The Closed IP management layer ensures CCTV systems are only accessible to the right people.

Security is enforced at every layer including hardware, software, network and remote connections, with safeguards such as encryption, authentication and TLS-based access built in by default.

We design our systems so that they offer strong protections even if the customer doesn’t have the time or resources to actively manage it.

Many organisations still operate legacy surveillance systems. How does NetVu address the cybersecurity challenges associated with integrating these older systems with modern, secure solutions?

Legacy infrastructure is a reality in many environments.

Organisations often cannot afford or do not wish to completely replace existing analogue or early digital systems.

That’s why NetVu technologies offer hybrid integration.

Our latest Gen4 NetVu Connected solutions are designed to work seamlessly with earlier generations of our technology.

From the first hybrid analogue/IP systems of the late 1990s, to the Digital Sprite DS2 and into the SD Advanced platforms of the 2010s, today’s systems can still operate through the same familiar interface while supporting more than 25 years of legacy infrastructure.

All our solutions sit within the secure NetVu Connected ecosystem, giving customers centralised updates, cloud oversight and a gradual, low-risk migration pathway.

Operating in global markets presents diverse cybersecurity challenges. How does NetVu adapt its security strategies for varying threats and regional regulations?

Regulatory conditions differ widely across different markets and countries. In Europe, GDPR demands strict data control. In the US, it’s a patchwork of state and federal rules.

Elsewhere, there may be infrastructure access concerns, or heightened resilience requirements.

NetVu’s greatest strength here is adaptability.

Through the cloud-enabled NetVu Connected platform, systems can be deployed in private cloud, on-premises, or via regional hosting to comply with data-residency rules.

Our codebase uniformity across Dedicated Micros, FireVu and TransVu means we can rapidly tailor configurations for regulatory or operational needs in different markets.

We also work with regulators and regional partners to stay ahead of evolving standards.

This proactive, consultative approach means our product architecture remains flexible, secure and compliant.

Looking ahead, what do you foresee as the next big challenge in cybersecurity for the surveillance industry and how is NetVu preparing to tackle it?

The next major challenge is an ongoing one – continuing to manage complexity at scale.

Surveillance is no longer just about recording cameras; it’s about networks of devices, analytics, cloud platforms and integration with broader IT systems.

Every additional layer increases the potential attack surface raising the stakes for security.

Artificial intelligence is at the centre of the industry conversation right now and it is shaping how cybersecurity threats and defences evolve.

It is part of both the threat and the solution.

On the one hand, AI-driven attacks, such as deepfakes, spoofing or automated system exploits, pose serious risks to the credibility of video evidence.

On the other, AI offers powerful defensive tools, from anomaly detection to automated incident response.

Of course, the conversation about AI doesn’t stop at cybersecurity.

Across the industry, there is huge pressure to embed AI into solutions, but we are cautious about doing it simply for the sake of it.

Our approach is to apply AI where it genuinely strengthens performance and trust.

This article was originally published in the October edition of Security Journal UK. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.