New solution provides a new layer of security to protect both content and video services from OTT vulnerabilities

Synamedia, the world’s largest independent video software provider, today launched Synamedia OTT ServiceGuard to shut out streaming pirates. For the first time, the media and entertainment industry can systemically address 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). By tackling OTT piracy head on, operators, content owners and rights holders protect their content investments, and video service providers can cut infrastructure costs while creating the opportunity to generate additional revenues.

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Synamedia OTT ServiceGuard is the first solution on the market to protect content across all open platforms – whether mobile, browsers, or smart TVs – and the first to extend 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.

To protect against common methods used by pirates to steal content and an OTT service, Synamedia OTT ServiceGuard 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 will be 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. 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,” said Nitsan Baider, Director of Product Management for Security Solutions at Synamedia.

Janice Pearson, Director of Business Development at Synamedia commented, “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.”

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According to Jennifer Kent, Vice President, Parks Associates, “It has become far too easy for pirates to gain access to high quality content and redistribute it at the expense of the video service provider. Protecting against this weakness and creating a differentiated offering with protection at the forefront will help companies securely distribute content.”

As the latest layer of security in the EverGuard portfolio, which provides holistic protection against video piracy, Synamedia OTT ServiceGuard is available as a service and quick to deploy. As a single offering that supports all client devices, it is easily integrated with existing OTT infrastructure without impacting the user experience or any existing application-service communications. It addresses the protection of all types of client with a simple software library that can be integrated in the normal development pipeline. Synamedia OTT ServiceGuard requires no special expertise or support knowledge and adds zero overhead to release schedules or communications costs. It supports any multi-DRM solution, including Synamedia’s solution.

With an intelligence-led approach to security, Synamedia protects approximately $70 billion in operator revenues every year. With 30 years’ experience in video security, Synamedia developed the longest unhacked solution on the market while its operational security team has brought many criminals to the attention of law enforcement officials.  Other Synamedia security solutions include: CSFEye for credentials sharing and fraud insight, which addresses the risk of content and service theft through credential misuse; VideoGuard conditional access to protect broadcast video services; and Streaming Piracy Disruption (SPD) to disrupt pirate services.

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