The inconvenient truth about content security

By Tobias Pyndt Steinmann, chief technology officer, ioGates ApS

By Contributor

Published: November 3, 2020

By Tobias Pyndt Steinmann, chief technology officer, ioGates ApS

target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin> By Tobias Pyndt Steinmann, chief technology officer, ioGates ApS

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When people think of security, they often also think of inconvenience.

A safe with a 6 inch thick door and only one key is inconvenient to access unless you're the one that has the key and the safe is only a few feet away. If you're not fortunate enough to be that person or in that location, there will be a number of steps that you need to physically take to gain access. That may be the most extreme example but there are others in everyday life. How many times have you wanted to download a file someone has sent you and you don't have an account for that file transfer service? You have to take the time to open an account or register to get access. We often find that the more secure the asset needs to be, the more inconvenient it is to access it.

Most of us are working remotely and need to share projects, files and data constantly. We no longer have the protections that we have within the confines of our on premise facility and we have the added challenge of working remotely. For many, this means another layer or two is between us and our content. So now more than ever, we need practical and efficient ways to share content and collaborate securely.

We have no time for inconvenience yet we need security more than ever before.

WE CAN BE SAFE AND EFFICIENT There's a lot more to sharing files than moving a blob of data from one place to another, and there are countless file sharing services, including FTP, DropBox, Vimeo, OneDrive, WeTransfer. Any service will get your data from A to B, but if you need speed, ultra-ultra-secure transfer and a service optimised for production media, then you will need to choose the right provider.

The film and TV industry has a specific set of demands that inevitably include a simple but flexible and ultra-secure way to share files. But it's about more than the ability to share. It's about the experience, too.

For a file sharing service to be effective it must be efficient, not just in terms of transfer speed, but in how users relate to it. If there are barriers to accomplish even the simplest task, then users will not engage with the software and will look for alternatives.

One such barrier is having to set up accounts with file sharing services. There's an understandable reluctance to maintain large numbers of accounts with different providers.

ioGates has created a way to build frictionless workflows that move media efficiently, safely, and all via the easy to understand method of ultra-secure shared links.

Meanwhile, on the backend, users also need a system that can be easy to use but still be flexible. It needs to manage what the recipient of the shared links will be able to see and what they can download or even upload via the links. These options can be dynamically changed without the need to send updated links.

We often find that media facilities are challenged with their employees having too many ways of sharing files, with no control and inadequate security. These organisations want to unify the company's sharing methodology across all their departments. They want to have the gigantic benefits of a service that's not tied to a location and which works as well from home as the Office.

For example, with our service, you can upload your files to our cloud service, and then manage sharing from a browser that's fully ultra-secure.

YES MAM, YOU CAN SHARE WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD Most media companies and TV stations have a MAM that manages all their media. But to maximise security, these MAMs do not have simple means to share files outside of their ecosystem.

What they need is an ultra ultra-secure gateway with their existing systems, allowing them to input and output files simply and with confidence.

They should look for solutions whose security confidence goes four layers deep:

Two-factor authentication The recipient receives a code on a cellphone that must be input in order to view the link. This is used by most of our clients and is now a standard and hassle-free way to work

Personalised Watermark - The recipient's email is burned into the proxy video preview. This is not just an overlay: it will stay with the video even if it is downloaded.

Digital Rights Management Files shared have DRM Encryption all the way to the monitor. This type of protection is often overlooked, but without it, there is a significant security risk. Files received through other major transfer services are only password protected for the login. As soon as you are logged in it does not require that much html knowledge to download the proxy file. If you on the other hand have DRM protection then this is not possible, so DRM is maybe the most forgotten security feature yet critical feature.

Single sign-on Active Directory (ADFS/SAML)

And just as important companies should be able to manage all access to its sharing platform with Active Directory and create new accounts, projects, and assign users.

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