Overview: Data Recovery for Fire Investigation
When a fire investigation team urgently needed to recover critical surveillance footage from a fire-damaged security camera, they turned to Ontrack Data Recovery—trusted experts in data recovery services. With the footage stored only on the device’s locally encrypted SSD, traditional recovery methods were impossible. Using advanced techniques and deep technical expertise, Ontrack recovered the 24 hours of pre-incident video that was crucial to the case.
Client Challenge: Fire-Damaged Surveillance Camera with Encrypted Storage
- A surveillance camera system was recovered from the scene of a fire under active investigation.
- The camera’s hardware was severely damaged, and the system would no longer boot.
- Due to a misconfiguration, the system was not syncing video to the cloud, making the local SSD the only source of video evidence.
- Investigators needed footage covering the 24 hours prior to the fire—but access was blocked by:
- Fire damage to the motherboard and microprocessor
- Inaccessibility of the Linux-based file system
- Full-disk encryption with LUKS (Linux Unified Key Setup)
- Decryption keys stored on a crypto-authentication chip embedded in the destroyed motherboard
This presented a complex, multi-layered data recovery problem involving physical damage, OS failure, data encryption, and retention policy risks.
Ontrack’s Solution: Innovative Data Recovery from Encrypted, Fire-Damaged SSD
Ontrack’s team implemented a multi-stage data recovery strategy combining hardware repair, encrypted file system access, and forensic imaging:
- Hardware Bypass and SSD Imaging
- Engineers bypassed damaged electronics to image the SSD storage.
- The file system image was encrypted and unreadable due to missing decryption keys.
- Temporary Repair of the Motherboard
- Despite the level of damage, Ontrack was able to repair the motherboard just enough to restore partial functionality..
- This enabled booting the native Linux OS and accessing the LUKS decryption key from the authentication chip.
- Controlled Application-Based Recovery
- The team used the original camera application to begin video file export.
- During the initial extraction, the system’s auto-deletion policy began erasing older footage.
- Iterative Imaging and Restoration Process
- Ontrack created a backup of the original SSD image.
- They restored the image multiple times and extracted video files before the system could delete them.
- This looped recovery process was repeated until all critical footage was successfully preserved.
Results: Successful Recovery of Pre-Fire Surveillance Video
Thanks to Ontrack’s advanced forensic tools, hardware engineering, and strategic recovery process, the team achieved:
- 100% recovery of mission-critical video files including video of the fire which damaged the camera
- Safe repair and use of a fire-damaged camera motherboard
- Access to encrypted video via LUKS decryption and native application
- Time-sensitive video restoration from system retention policy deletions
Business & Investigative Impact
The recovered video was pivotal for the fire investigation team. Without it, key forensic evidence would have been permanently lost. This case illustrates how Ontrack can successfully:
- Recover data from encrypted and physically damaged surveillance systems
- Restore video files from local SSDs without cloud backups
- Support legal and forensic teams with digital evidence recovery
Conclusion: Why Ontrack Is the Trusted Leader in Surveillance Data Recovery
This case exemplifies Ontrack’s ability to recover surveillance system video footage in disaster recovery scenarios involving fire, encryption, and hardware failure. From damaged electronics to encrypted files, Ontrack’s team delivered where others could not—demonstrating expertise in:
- Encrypted data recovery (LUKS, BitLocker, etc.)
- Fire-damaged device recovery
- Surveillance camera and DVR/NVR video recovery
- Custom forensic workflows and intelligent automation
For any organization relying on security footage, law enforcement evidence, or mission-critical camera systems, Ontrack remains the premier partner for complex data recovery challenges.
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