The Security Fallout

From

Content Creation

on Steroids

1The Security Fallout from Content Creation on Steroids

The traditional sanctity of content creation in the hands of a few is dead.

Content creation is now on steroids – with no signs of stopping.

Blockchain technology has also arrived in the media industry, with a promise to deliver a more equitable platform for hosting and streaming online content and where content creators can be truly recognised and rewarded directly by their viewers.

New and unexpected entrants are constantly creating a smorgasbord of content globally catering to a wide range of demographics and niche interests.

As the global hunt for subscribers and revenue streams continues, there will be relentless demand for local talents to create local content, creating a multi-vendor environment with many moving parts for any media organization.

he digital age and cheaper access to quality equipment have given rise to independent content creators or outfits, generating quality content from a studio in Phuket that may be viewed during the daily commute on the London Tube.

The decentralization of content creation and our relentless appetite to be entertained mean that media companies now need to source for content in places never thought possible 10 years ago.

Grasswire, for example, provides news crowdsourced from Twitter and gained headlines with its live coverage of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing while traditional media outlets had to contend with police cordons.

Amazon Prime, HBO and Netflix have invested hundreds of millions of dollars to create content in and for 200 markets worldwide. PepsiCo has broadened its sights from soda and chips to branded content with an in-house studio designed by rap mogul, Jay-Z.

Real and present

danger from independent

creators

2The Security Fallout from Content Creation on Steroids

hen media and broadcast companies co-opt independent content creators into their network, security breaches that go beyond content piracy presents a real and present danger.

While it’s a great time to be in the content business, media companies are now exposed to a larger world with many unknowns with untested and unproven content creators. Users and devices, as well as applications and data, are moving outside the traditional enterprise parameters and zone of control.

As the parameters of a traditional media organization become more fluid and complex, trust-and-verify is no longer an option.

Risks can arise from unknown and new business models created by new content sources. Crowdsourced news, for example, has leveraged the 24/7 availability of updates around the world on the internet but has its drawbacks – innocent men were falsely identified as suspects in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing based on crowdsourced information.

W

kamai research found that 63% of all data breaches are the result of third parties.40% of breaches originate from within as authorised users access unauthorised systems within the organization’s network.

In an Akamai-commissioned survey of 200 media technology influencers and decision-makers, enterprise/internal application security was marked in the top three biggest concerns.

Only 1% of survey respondents indicated that they are “very confident” in their organization’s current security measures, according to the State of Media Security report. And this is against the backdrop of steps already being taken to address common threats like DDoS, bots and web application attacks.

While a healthy dose of scepticism is necessary to ensure a constant state of readiness, this alarming trend indicates that media companies may remain vulnerable to security threats.

For media companies, solving the security challenge needs to go beyond deploying a single-point-in-time solution to an enterprise-wide security architecture. We found that 41% of IT professionals rank complexity of architecture/integration issues as the largest concern.

When it is difficult to distinguish between internal and external vendors along the supply chain, enterprise-wide visibility is vital to ensure that applications and data do not compromise the organization’s operations.

How do media organizations balance the need to open their doors to decentralized content creators and ensure the integrity of their operations?

Threat from

outside within

3The Security Fallout from Content Creation on Steroids

A

perating on a zero trust model where everything is treated as coming from an external source can also help ensure media organizations navigate their digital transformation meaningfully.

Currently, only 14 percent of media organizations report using cloud-based content delivery network (CDN) DDoS mitigation – a measure that has become widely adopted in other industries.

The recent State of the Internet Security report also ound that streaming media services experienced 8,102,011,013 attempts on credential abuse from May-December 2018. Other media and entertainment organizations accounted for 3,482,622,059 attempts over the same period.

Media organizations need to be better prepared for a world of independent, overnight content creators and the inherent security threats of this brave new world.

Cloud security

to rule them all

The Security Fallout from Content Creation on Steroids 4

O

As the world’s largest and most trusted cloud delivery platform, Akamai makes it easier for its customers to provide the best and most secure digital experiences on any device, anytime, anywhere. Akamai’s massively distributed platform is unparalleled in scale, giving customers superior performance and threat protection. Akamai’s portfolio of web and mobile performance, cloud security, enterprise access, and video delivery solutions are supported by exceptional customer service and 24/7/365 monitoring. To learn why the top financial institutions, online retail leaders, media and entertainment providers, and government organizations trust Akamai, please visit www.akamai.com, blogs.akamai.com, or @Akamai on Twitter. Published 03/19.