Google Workspace Admin for controlling access to video surveillance

Carter Maslan

3 min read · Jul 8, 2019

Security cameras and NVRs often have their own usernames and passwords that are disconnected from the standard IT security policies — the cameras know nothing about changes in personnel or in their roles. Even enterprise VMS/CMS systems that connect to corporate directory services often require that the actual administration of access privileges be performed within their own applications — outside of the directory’s standard administration of Users and Groups.

Instead, Camio enables a Group to be the owner of an account. The Group MEMBERs can view video, and the Group MANAGERs can manage the account (e.g. connect cameras, add zones, change settings). Group-owned accounts have several benefits:

1. Reliable access control
   The corporate directory service itself is the sole source of truth in determining who has access to the video. IT administrators don’t have to remember to update separate permissions within other applications.
2. Real-identity security
   Each person signs in only with his/her real identity as a member of the Group. This discourages the common bad practice of sharing passwords for “user” accounts that were created to represent a particular property.
3. Cost savings
   Rather than incurring fees for each new User representing each property, campus, or location, it’s free to designate a Group as the account owner. Plus, the simplicity of maintaining Group memberships using standard corporate directory tools reduces admin costs.

As an example, the Group sanmateo is the account owner for Camio’s San Mateo office security cameras. Permission to view or manage the account is controlled entirely by the Google Admin Group membership tool.

To enable this Group — and any other Groups on the domain — to be the account owner, the domain Directory Admin simply grants OAuth permission for read-only access to Groups and Group memberships:

There’s no need to wait for synchronization between Camio and the Directory service, because the Directory service itself is the sole source of permissions. Users on the same domain see their Group memberships among the Accounts shown on the Search Panel automatically:

For Group members that are outside of the domain (e.g. someone invited using a gmail.com address), the Group accounts appear in the Search Panel only after the first search of a domain Group.

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Published in Camio

Last published Dec 9, 2025

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Written by Carter Maslan

Camio co-founder & CEO. Making real-time video smart and useful.