Securing post-production data is of the highest importance for filmmakers, video editors and those in creative industries.
The intellectual property held in data storage can be worth millions, if not invaluable. There's no telling where the next big blockbuster movie will come from and even independent filmmakers could be holding onto something of astronomical value in the near future.
Consequence of Data Breach in Post-production
As with all businesses, there is the risk of personal or financial data being stolen or unauthorised access into the network being given to a malicious actor. However, in the post-production industry, there are a number of industry-specific threats from data breaches.
Suffering a data breach in your post-production business could result in content being leaked early ahead of release. The entertainment industry suffers a loss of around $71 billion each year as a result of leaked digital assets. Unlike with normal theft, if it is a digital asset that has been leaked, there is no real way to reverse the process and get the item with the same value back.
Once the content has been leaked there will be multiple versions of it copied and shared online and the genie will be already out of the bottle, so to speak. This means the only effective way to deal with leaked assets is to avoid having them leaked in the first place.
Another less tangible form of data theft is through the stealing of intellectual property or creative ideas themselves. The consequences of this can be equally severe although much more difficult to prove and seek reparations for.
Data breaches can occur at any stage in the process and it is not just the leaking of the final finished version that is a threat to post-production and filmmaking industries. If there are vulnerabilities in a production house’s cybersecurity measures, then there’s nothing to stop a rival firm from an entirely different country somehow acquiring the basic plot details and creative ideas connected with a production and then quickly producing their own low-budget version.
How to Prevent Leaked Assets and Data Breaches in Post-production
Role-based Permissions
Data breaches occur when important information and valuable assets fall into the wrong hands. This risk can be mitigated by firstly ensuring the data is already in the “right” hands to begin with, i.e. the members of the team who need to use the data or assets to carry out their job roles.
For example, the marketing department does not need the same level of access to a video as the video editing team. Similarly, while the client may receive the finished product, they do not require the same permissions as the creative team who can edit and make modifications to the files.
Controlling who has what permission based on their job role is crucial for post-production industries to limit the vulnerabilities surrounding vital digital assets.
Access Management
Another way to ensure that data can only be accessed by authorised users is to enforce strict access management policies.
Often for extremely valuable digital assets such as intellectual property and unreleased content, the traditional username and password combination is not enough.
These can be easily compromised and for highly sensitive or valuable assets there should be secure access management technology in place to correctly identify the user. For example, things like two-factor authentication, biometric data and passwordless logins can be used for greater certainty of correct identification of the user.
Visible and Forensic Watermark
Watermarking is a good tool for both tracing the source in the event of a leak and deterring it from happening.
Traditional visible watermarks can be clearly seen in every frame of a video and provide traceability and are a visual deterrent. Watermarked content may not have the same commercial value in terms of video piracy, so there’s a good chance that the unauthorised user will not try to copy and sell it.
Forensic watermarks work slightly differently and cannot be seen by the naked eye as they are digitally embedded into the video. They include special characters that identify the origin of the video, making it difficult for malicious actors and video pirates to pass the asset off as their own.
Watermarks can even be used to identify certain teams or user groups that have access to the video, with specific watermarks for each department. This means that the source of the leak can be pinpointed more closely.
Intrusion Detection Systems and Infrastructure Monitoring
Lyon.tech helps post-production companies to secure their digital assets with cutting-edge intrusion detection systems and live monitoring of all network traffic, endpoints and infrastructure.
This means in the event of a data breach, our specialist engineers will be alerted immediately and incident response teams will be deployed to contain the threat and conduct any further investigation as needed.
With all access points and components of the network covered with 24/7 monitoring, this means that filmmaking companies can rest assured that their important digital assets are protected with the highest levels of scrutiny and defensive measures.
Reduce Human Error With Professional Cybersecurity Training
At Lyon, we can take you through your data security policy and ensure that all the industry-specific elements for filmmakers are included.
We can then help to implement this security policy by ensuring all staff members are educated through engaging in one-on-one or group training sessions. At Lyon, we provide cybersecurity awareness training to all levels of competency up to and including certification level.
As the majority of data breaches are the result of human error in an early stage of the incident, reducing this risk is vital for post-production companies with valuable digital assets and proprietary content being stored.
Detailed Insight Into Post-production Data Security
For more information and to gain a detailed knowledge of data security procedures specific to the post-production industry, contact our expert analysts today.
We can take you through the most relevant technology and defence systems that would be suitable for your operating methods, help with the implementation and installation of any technology and provide ongoing support through live monitoring and 24/7 response teams.
Lyon provide a full suite of cybersecurity solutions for post-production industries, helping to win the ongoing arms race against increasingly more sophisticated hackers and cyber criminals.
At Lyon, we recognise that malicious actors will not waste any time targeting vulnerable entities which is why we operate quickly and effectively to set up robust security measures that integrate with your existing systems.
Once the advanced intrusion detection systems and network analysis are in place then any threats or data breaches will be registered and reported in real-time, allowing our rapid response teams to react to the incident immediately and take the appropriate action to contain the threat.
Get in touch to secure your valuable business assets without delay.
