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Cybersecurity · head to head

Cosign vs VIVOTEK VAST Security Station

Cosign logo

Cosign

Cybersecurity

Signs and verifies container images and artifacts, with or without managing keys

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
VIVOTEK VAST Security Station logo

VIVOTEK VAST Security Station

Cybersecurity

Camera-vendor video management software with a free 32-channel tier for VIVOTEK devices

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Cosign has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Cosign keyless signing inherits every weakness of the identity provider behind it. Sigstore’s own threat model states that if an identity provider is compromised, Sigstore will issue certificates to those identities, so a compromised account produces perfectly valid signatures.; VIVOTEK VAST Security Station vAST 2 has entered end of maintenance with technical support and software files withdrawn, yet distributors still list VAST 2 licences, so a buyer can be quoted unsupported software without realising it.
  • They diverge on capability: Cosign covers Keyless signing, VIVOTEK VAST Security Station covers VSS Lite free tier.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cosign and VIVOTEK VAST Security Station actually diverge.

Attributes where Cosign and VIVOTEK VAST Security Station differ
AttributeCosignVIVOTEK VAST Security Station
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeOne-time purchase per camera channel
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsmacOS, Linux, Windows, DockerWindows, Web, iOS, Android

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cybersecurity).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Cosign

  • Keyless signing
  • Key and KMS signing
  • Registry-native storage
  • In-toto attestations
  • Offline verification
  • Trusted root and signing config

Only in VIVOTEK VAST Security Station

  • VSS Lite free tier
  • Per-channel licensing
  • Third-party camera support
  • Failover and TV matrix
  • Vision object analytics
  • Embedded NVR licensing
  • NDAA and TAA compliance

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Cosign

  • Signing container images in a build pipeline without managing long-lived private keysnot VIVOTEK VAST Security Station
  • Attaching a signed bill of materials to a release so consumers can verify its provenancenot VIVOTEK VAST Security Station
  • Meeting a customer or regulatory requirement for signed artifactsnot VIVOTEK VAST Security Station
  • Verifying third-party images before they enter an internal registrynot VIVOTEK VAST Security Station

VIVOTEK VAST Security Station

  • A school or small public building with fewer than 32 VIVOTEK cameras that needs a VMS at no licence costnot Cosign
  • A United States public sector site that must meet NDAA and TAA procurement restrictionsnot Cosign
  • An existing VAST 2 site that needs to migrate before the software falls further out of maintenancenot Cosign
  • A mid-sized site standardising on VIVOTEK hardware with a handful of third-party cameras to absorbnot Cosign

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Cosign

  • Keyless signing inherits every weakness of the identity provider behind it. Sigstore’s own threat model states that if an identity provider is compromised, Sigstore will issue certificates to those identities, so a compromised account produces perfectly valid signatures.
  • A signature proves who signed, never whether they should have. The documentation is explicit that Sigstore cannot determine authorisation, so every consumer must write and maintain their own identity and issuer policy or verification means nothing.
  • Nothing is enforced without an admission controller. Signing changes what you can prove, not what runs, and the official policy controller has a small maintainer base for a component sitting in a cluster admission path.
  • Upgrades break pipelines. Version 3 changed defaults, version 4 is announced as removing legacy functionality and roughly half the command line flags, and two official client libraries still lacked support for the new log format as of mid 2026.
  • Signatures do not expire. An artifact signed before a maintainer account was compromised and one signed after are indistinguishable unless somebody is actively monitoring the transparency log, and almost nobody is.

VIVOTEK VAST Security Station

  • VAST 2 has entered end of maintenance with technical support and software files withdrawn, yet distributors still list VAST 2 licences, so a buyer can be quoted unsupported software without realising it.
  • The free Lite tier is hard capped at 32 cameras and VIVOTEK devices only, so a site that grows to 33 cameras or adds one third-party camera moves straight to paid Standard licensing.
  • VSS Professional includes no camera licences at all, so the edition that large deployments need starts from a higher effective price than the tier comparison suggests.
  • It is a camera manufacturer's VMS, so the third-party device list, analytics ecosystem and integration catalogue are all narrower than an independent platform like Milestone or Salient.
  • No pricing is published for Standard or Professional channels; everything runs through distribution, which makes budgeting a phased expansion difficult without repeated quotes.

Pricing, plan by plan

Cosign

Free
  • CosignFree
    • Apache-2.0
    • Public Sigstore infrastructure free to use
    • No usage limits published

VIVOTEK VAST Security Station

On request
  • VSS LiteFree
    • Free of charge
    • Up to 32 VIVOTEK cameras per server
    • No third-party camera support
  • VSS Standard$undefined/one-time
    • Up to 256 cameras per server
    • Eight camera licences included for VIVOTEK or third-party devices
    • Additional channel licences purchased individually
  • VSS Professional$undefined/one-time
    • Large scale deployments with failover and TV matrix
    • No camera licences included at all
    • Every channel purchased or upgraded from Standard

Which should you pick?

Choose Cosign if

  • You need keyless signing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker.
  • You also want key and kms signing.
Cosign review

Choose VIVOTEK VAST Security Station if

  • You need vss lite free tier.
  • You work on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want per-channel licensing.
VIVOTEK VAST Security Station review

Questions people ask

Is Cosign or VIVOTEK VAST Security Station better?
Neither clearly leads. Cosign starts at Free and VIVOTEK VAST Security Station at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cosign or VIVOTEK VAST Security Station?
Cosign has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Cosign and On request for VIVOTEK VAST Security Station.
Does Cosign or VIVOTEK VAST Security Station run on more platforms?
Cosign runs on macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker. VIVOTEK VAST Security Station runs on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Cosign for free?
Yes. Cosign has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. VIVOTEK VAST Security Station starts at On request.
What is Cosign best used for?
Cosign is most often used for signing container images in a build pipeline without managing long-lived private keys, attaching a signed bill of materials to a release so consumers can verify its provenance, meeting a customer or regulatory requirement for signed artifacts, verifying third-party images before they enter an internal registry. Of those, signing container images in a build pipeline without managing long-lived private keys and attaching a signed bill of materials to a release so consumers can verify its provenance are not what VIVOTEK VAST Security Station is typically brought in for.
What can Cosign do that VIVOTEK VAST Security Station cannot?
Cosign covers Keyless signing, Key and KMS signing, Registry-native storage, In-toto attestations. VIVOTEK VAST Security Station covers VSS Lite free tier, Per-channel licensing, Third-party camera support, Failover and TV matrix.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cosign: Does Cosign tell me if an image is vulnerable?

No. It has no vulnerability knowledge whatsoever. It can carry an SBOM as a signed attestation but never reads it. Pair it with a scanner.

VIVOTEK VAST Security Station: Should I still buy VAST 2?

No. VAST 2 has entered end of maintenance with support and software files withdrawn. VSS is the current product, and any VAST 2 licence still on a distributor price list should be questioned.

Cosign: Is signing alone enough?

No. Verification is a command somebody runs. Without an admission controller enforcing it, an unsigned image still runs.

VIVOTEK VAST Security Station: Is VSS Lite really free?

Yes, for up to 32 VIVOTEK cameras per server. It does not support third-party cameras and cannot exceed 32 channels.

Cosign: What does a bare cosign verify actually prove?

Very little. Without a pinned certificate identity and OIDC issuer, it accepts a valid signature from any identity at all.

VIVOTEK VAST Security Station: How many licences come with Standard?

Eight camera licences, usable for VIVOTEK or third-party devices. Professional includes none.

Cosign: What is the risk of keyless signing?

Your OIDC provider becomes the root of trust. Compromise of that account yields genuine, verifiable signatures, so account security is the control that matters.

VIVOTEK VAST Security Station: Is VIVOTEK NDAA compliant?

VIVOTEK publishes an NDAA and TAA compliant product list, which is why it appears in United States public sector specifications where Section 889 excludes several other manufacturers.

Cosign: Should we expect breaking changes?

Yes. Version 4 is announced to remove roughly half the flags, and a post-quantum migration is named as a further breaking change after that.

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