There is no panacea, only best practices
The question, of course, is what to do.
Unfortunately, no single solution exists. A villain ruins the film's release by pirating a flawed, unfinished version of “The Hulk.'' Grant Thornton Media and Entertainment National Leader Deborah Newman said, “The theft of the Hulk movie resulted in the loss of millions of dollars in value because the unfinished work did not meet the studio's standards.” emphasized.
To protect your content, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPA)'s Trusted Partner Network (TPN) provides third-party reviews, education, and advertising campaigns to prevent piracy and content theft. There are also cloud-specific controls that production and post-production companies can implement. Because companies like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Apple stream content, they have very specific needs to securely deliver their products.
A studio's content team may play an even bigger role in protecting assets. They have already created a legal contract that all vendors must sign. When high-value content, say the next blockbuster movie, is being created, unless they can work with visual effects companies, digital distribution companies, and localization companies to demonstrate very robust cybersecurity measures, they won't be able to protect certain content. This further curbs piracy.
But there are often overlooked ways media companies can strengthen their cybersecurity. Facilitate collaboration between content protection and cybersecurity teams. The difference between the two is that the content team includes lawyers. Cybersecurity with technical experts means having complementary approaches and knowledge. Engineers can incorporate legal concepts into their thinking. Legal teams can consider how they can leverage technology.
Applying widely accepted requirements such as SOC2 (Systems and Organizational Controls) can further help manage third-party risks. These are often aligned with security frameworks such as the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) CSF (Cybersecurity Framework). Although there is no formal certification, attestation from a third-party auditor can provide further assurance that security best practices are followed.
Studios have met pent-up demand for unavailable properties simply by making them available, often through streaming. Mr Sedec said: “For the past 10 years, we have changed our release window globally. We are releasing movies in all countries at the same time. Previously, movies would start in the US and five months later in Europe. It was out there. Those five months were the perfect time for everyone to steal that movie here.”