Adaptive Cloud Security for Digital-First Media and Entertainment Operations
Content is the lifeblood of the media and entertainment
(M&E) industry, and the emergence of digital platforms,
such as video and audio streaming services, websites,
social media, and mobile apps, are currently driving
a profound shift in terms of how content is produced,
distributed, and consumed.
On the one hand, these platforms are enabling M&E companies to reach a wider audience than ever before, and more easily distribute and monetize their content globally. At the same time, digitalization has lowered barriers to entry, making it easier for new competitors to enter the market and compete on price, challenging traditional content distribution and revenue models.
Advertising revenues have also declined as audiences shift to digital platforms, forcing companies to implement subscription-based models. This is having a dramatic impact on M&E companies, requiring them to make huge upfront investments to acquire subscribers, and create content that will keep them engaged for a long time
On the one hand, these platforms are enabling M&E companies to reach a wider audience than ever before, and more easily distribute and monetize their content globally. At the same time, digitalization has lowered barriers to entry, making it easier for new competitors to enter the market and compete on price, challenging traditional content distribution and revenue models.
Advertising revenues have also declined as audiences shift to digital platforms, forcing companies to implement subscription-based models. This is having a dramatic impact on M&E companies, requiring them to make huge upfront investments to acquire subscribers, and create content that will keep them engaged for a long time
As consumers increasingly access content on digital
platforms, they’re becoming more demanding in
terms of the type, quality and variety of content they
expect. This has led to increased competition and
pressure on traditional M&E companies to adapt their
business models to remain relevant, and ramp up
their investment in content creation and innovation.
So while content is king, the cost of producing the right type of content that appeals to this new type of audience has risen significantly in recent years. This, in turn, has put pressure on companies to find new revenue streams to offset these costs. In addition, the fragmentation of audiences across multiple platforms has made it harder for companies to reach large audiences and monetize their content effectively. This has led M&E companies to diversify their revenue streams, and find new ways to reach audiences using technology-driven innovation.
So while content is king, the cost of producing the right type of content that appeals to this new type of audience has risen significantly in recent years. This, in turn, has put pressure on companies to find new revenue streams to offset these costs. In addition, the fragmentation of audiences across multiple platforms has made it harder for companies to reach large audiences and monetize their content effectively. This has led M&E companies to diversify their revenue streams, and find new ways to reach audiences using technology-driven innovation.
The pivotal role of cloud infrastructure in modern M&E operations
Adaptive Cloud Security for Digital-First Media and Entertainment Operations | 2
Cloud computing is at the center of the rapid
digitalization of the M&E industry. From major
film studios and broadcasters to online content
and streaming platforms, M&E companies are
leveraging public cloud infrastructure services
to run their business. This makes it easier for
them to distribute their content to a global
audience quickly and efficiently, collaborate
on projects, and effectively store and access
large amounts of data and content.
Furthermore, cloud computing enables M&E players
to scale their computing resources up or down as needed,
which is especially important for companies that need to
handle spikes in demand. This capability has become even more critical in the aftermath of the COVID-19
pandemic, which has led to changes in the way content is produced and consumed. Cloud computing also
provides M&E companies with access to innovative data and analytics services, enabling them to make
more informed decisions based on data insights, improve the efficiency of content production and
distribution, and deliver personalized recommendations to users.
Cloud infrastructure security challenges in the M&E industry
However, the shift to cloud-based infrastructure
also introduces a range of operational challenges
for M&E companies, most notably around cloud
security. Cloud infrastructure is quickly becoming
the go-to method for companies to store and access
sensitive data, which makes it a lucrative target for
cyber criminals. M&E companies are particularly
vulnerable to cyberattacks due to the high value of
their data. Many of them are storing huge content
libraries in the cloud, often containing personally
identifiable information (PII) of actors and other
personnel, and valuable proprietary information
(PI) such as pre-release content in the form of
audio and video files, scripts, etc
In addition, M&E companies are subject to strict regulations such as the European Union’s General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA),which require them to take
specific steps to protect personal data. Complying with these regulations in a public cloud environment can
be complex and challenging.The risk of unauthorized access to sensitive content in the cloud is a growing
concern to organizations across all industries. M&E companies are potentially more exposed to this threat
as many of them rely on collaboration with contractors, partners and other parties on a per-project basis.
The cloud plays a pivotal role here as it supports modern ways of collaboration across content creation,
production and distribution, facilitating access to resources and content, and remote work with teams,
freelancers, and partners around the world.
Cloud access permissions granted to partners working on a specific project should be constantly monitored and revoked once the work is finished. Otherwise, they may create vulnerabilities that can be exploited by malicious actors. However, maintaining visibility and control over access to cloud resources containing sensitive content is a significant challenge in complex cloud-enabled M&E supply chains, involving multiple users, data sources, systems, and environments.
Cloud access permissions granted to partners working on a specific project should be constantly monitored and revoked once the work is finished. Otherwise, they may create vulnerabilities that can be exploited by malicious actors. However, maintaining visibility and control over access to cloud resources containing sensitive content is a significant challenge in complex cloud-enabled M&E supply chains, involving multiple users, data sources, systems, and environments.
Cloud security must become more proactive and contextual
The dynamic and collaborative nature of cloud-enabled
M&E operations requires companies to implement security
mechanisms that can adapt to the frequent changes in
distributed cloud infrastructures. Ensuring that users can
view cloud resources only with their given authorization
levels is critical, but requires new security approaches
designed for the scale and speed of cloud operations.
One of the main challenges in the implementation
of effective cloud infrastructure access controls is the
need to combine different capabilities that currently
exist in disparate systems. Access control techniques
typically use least privilege principles to keep identities
andentitlements to a minimum while protecting cloud
systems from unauthorized access. Data protection
measures are also essential, providing additional
safeguards that identify and minimize the exposure
of sensitive data.
Traditionally, identity and access management (IAM)
and data protection were two different worlds. Today,
as M&E companies accelerate their transformation into cloud-first digital businesses, securing their cloud
infrastructure and digital assets should be based on a multidimensional analysis. This analysis should examine
and account for a range of factors in a holistic manner. However, up until recently, this approach simply wasn’t
available (or was only partially available in siloed IAM and data protection products). These factors include:
Entity
The user who requires access, including human and machine identities
Application
The permissions that an app or a service actually needs
Resources
The assets that the user requires access to, e.g. a cloud database or a cloud storage system
Action
What the user or application/service wants to do
Data
What data is stored on the resource being access and the sensitivity level of the data
Furthermore, traditional identity- and data-centric solutions have been largely geared toward defining and
enforcing static controls based on predefined rules. These types of static controls are highly ineffective in a
constantly changing cloud-based M&E supply chain that involves countless moving parts. To protect these
environments without disrupting legitimate activities, there’s a need for a more contextual and adaptive
security approach to evaluate and prioritize risk, and automatically apply the right policies and entitlements,
while also minimizing the operational burden on security teams and developers.
Solvo’s adaptive cloud infrastructure security
Designed specifically for dynamic cloud
environments, Solvo enables security
teams, developers and other stakeholders
to automatically uncover, prioritize, mitigate
and remediate cloud infrastructure access
risks. Using multi-dimensional, contextual
monitoring and analysis of infrastructure
resources, applications and user behavior,
and the data associated with them, Solvo
enables enterprises to implement adaptive
least privilege access policies and controls
at scale.Solvo automatically creates customized,
constantly-updated least privilege access
policies based on the level of risk associated
with entities and data in the cloud.
Solvo automatically creates customized, constantly-updated least privilege access policies based on the level of risk associated with entities and data in the cloud. Solvo also helps CISOs identify and prioritize risks, and proactively mitigate cloud misconfigurations and vulnerabilities while facilitating collaboration between security, DevOps and engineering teams. Using Solvo, M&E companies can reduce their cloud attack surface, simplify compliance, and keep adapting their business models to leverage the benefits of the cloud in a secure manner. By breaking down application, identity and data silos, Solvo offers a first-of-its-kind application and data-aware cloud infrastructure security platform designed for the scale and speed of cloud-native environments.
Solvo’s unique platform gets to work right away in three distinct stages:
Secure media and entertainment cloud operations
Despite the challenges, the cloud offers many
benefits for M&E companies, enabling new and
innovative ways to create, manage, and distribute
content, and deliver improved user experiences
while providing cost savings and operational
efficiencies. To mitigate the risks associated
with using the cloud, it’s important to implement
adaptive cloud infrastructure security solutions
that can automatically identify, prioritize and
remediate threats based on the sensitivity of
data involved and level of risk.
By taking these precautions, M&E companies can
reap the full benefits of the cloud, and remain
competitive in an increasingly digital landscape.
Key benefits
- Comprehensive visibility into your cloud infrastructure inventory
- Create customized, automatically updated least privileged access policies based on the level of risk associated with entities, resources, applications and data in the cloud
- Proactively monitor, identify, prioritize and remediate the most critical risks to your cloud infrastructure
- Minimize cloud security alert fatigue and false positives
- Reduce your cloud attack surface to innovate and grow your business in a secure manner
- Create stronger alignment and improved collaboration between security, DevOps and engineering teams
- Simplify compliance and reporting
Solvo is here to automate your cloud security
Sign up today to improve your security posture