Independent video software provider, Synamedia, has announced the launch of its new Synamedia OTT ServiceGuard aimed at combatting streaming pirates. The company said that the new solution systemically addresses the inherent weaknesses that make it easy for pirates to not only steal content but also entire OTT services, including redistributing directly from the service provider’s content delivery network (CDN).
OTT ServiceGuard is designed to protect content across all open platforms – mobile, browsers, smart TVs, etc – and extends the service protection to the CDN itself, stopping pirates from stealing content at the point of distribution. With video service providers facing increased pressure from rights holders to fight piracy, the new solution makes it possible to securely distribute content on open platforms by validating that only legitimate subscribers and applications are granted access and receive content.
The company went on to explain that in order to combat some of the common methods used by pirates to steal content and an OTT service, the new solution gives each client a unique identity that is not cloneable and allocates secure keys for signing service requests, ensuring all client messages are validated for their authenticity and origin. The solution is continuously enhanced as Synamedia’s operational security team detects new vulnerabilities.
“We have set ourselves a challenge of educating the industry about the scale of OTT piracy. Many rights holders and operators mistakenly believe that current approaches – including DRM, client hardening and concurrency limits – provide adequate content protection. Without sugar coating the truth, they are mistaken,” said Nitsan Baider, director of product management for security solutions at Synamedia. “Up to now, technologies have barely made a dent in OTT piracy because the protocol is broken. Synamedia OTT ServiceGuard is designed to safeguard against those risks.”
Janice Pearson, director of business development at Synamedia, added, “Hollywood studios and sports rights holders are justifiably frustrated with the amount of premium content being leaked from their services. Content owners invest substantial resources to fight piracy, but these efforts only focus on the symptoms. Because Synamedia OTT ServiceGuard addresses the root causes of piracy, it is now possible to secure platforms and protect high value movie, TV and sports content.”
