CDSA

Cartesian: Geo-Filtering Testing and Watermarking are Key Ways to Mitigate Risks

Geo-filtering circumvention testing, watermarking and credential sharing analytics are three key ways in which media and entertainment companies can keep their content secure, according to Lee Kent, the company’s head of content security.

Credential sharing continues to play a major role in online content piracy and many consumers are “turning to this as a means to grab as much content” as they can without paying for it, he said Oct. 20 during the online Media & Entertainment Day event.

Because of COVID-19 response measures, meanwhile, security risks have only increased, he also said.

Pointing to those and several other online piracy trends during the Content Security breakout sessionTrends and Solutions in Content Security,” he said content demand and popularity of streaming services spiked in March.

There was a 41% increase in U.S. film piracy, a 12% increase in U.S. TV show piracy and video piracy rose about 33% during the initial pandemic period, he noted.

While there were more than 1 billion visits to the top 10 pirate streaming sites in March, interest in Torrent sites saw the biggest increase, peaking at 70%, he said, adding an estimated 30 million users in the U.S. accessed pirate media sites like 0123movies, he said. Movies were the main driving factor, he said.

Meanwhile, 22% of respondents to a recent Cartesian study indicated they used shared credentials, with 45% of college students and 42% of 18-24-year-old consumers using shared credentials, he noted. On average, those who used shared credentials did so on 2.2 million streaming platforms and users who engaged in it did so on more than one platform, he added.

Cartesian provides organisations with solutions to mitigate unwanted access, including streaming video credential sharing detection programs in which it works with streaming video companies to identify and stop credential sharing, he pointed out.

Credential sharing indicators span multiple dimensions of behaviour, so the company’s mitigation actions are multipronged. The company first helps clients select the best mitigation actions to address unwanted behaviour or outright theft. It then notifies service account holders about suspicious logins and suggests password resets. It also suggests subscribers register more of their active devices and/or device limits and two-factor authentication, and conducts further investigation using  research and customer focus groups, according to Cartesian.

High value content patterns can warrant investigation, while consistent single channel tuning can be used to detect potential environments of use, Kent pointed out.

Cartesian also tests how effective a watermarking solution is in identifying where content is being used in illicit ecosystems, he noted, pointing out: “We look at extraction times. We look at visibility for the watermark.”

The company also evaluates the characteristics of both the watermarking solution and the end-to-end ecosystem, and then offers a watermarking assessment certificate. After an audit, it presents an organisation with the certificate to show that the solution has been independently reviewed and it can be displayed and shown at an organisation’s website, Kent noted.

Geo-circumvention monitoring is a common way in which consumers access restricted content, he went on to say. Cartesian’s automated approach to geo-filtering testing fights that by using hundreds of combinations to attempt to access restricted content through circumvention mechanisms, he told viewers.

Cartesian’s Farncombe Content Security Audit review is an unbiased appraisal of an organisation’s content security solution, he said, noting its assessments are tailored to each organisation because it understands one size doesn’t fit all. The company takes a deep-dive, phased approach to areas of risks, gives organisations a summary of its observations and then a report is provided at the end of its assessment.

After a Farncombe audit, Cartesian presents the client with a certificate to allow potential customers see that a system has been independently reviewed, Kent noted. Disney, HBO, Sony and WarnerMedia are among the companies that have recognised the Farncombe Content Security Audit for access to their content, according to Cartesian.

Kent concluded by noting that business analytics can drive a customer’s experience and improve business outcomes. Options include IP video churn reporting, streaming video quality measurement and streaming video engagement modelling.

Click here to access the full presentation.

M&E Day was sponsored by IBM Security, Microsoft Azure, SHIFT, Akamai, Cartesian, Chesapeake Systems, ContentArmor, Convergent Risks, Deluxe, Digital Nirvana, edgescan, EIDR, PK, Richey May Technology Solutions, STEGA, Synamedia and Signiant and was produced by MESA, in cooperation with NAB Show New York, and in association with the Content Delivery & Security Association (CDSA) and the Hollywood IT Society (HITS).