By: Terri Davies, President, Trusted Partner Network (TPN)
According to Cybersecurity Ventures, the global annual cost of cybercrime is predicted to reach GBP 7.5 million (USD 9.5 trillion) in 2024. As we continue to navigate these trends and forecasts, I encourage you to ask yourselves, what is your company’s content security risk management strategy? How are you addressing the increasing rates of cyberattacks and content/data breaches? When was the last time you reviewed your business continuity plan? I’m not trying to give you nightmares. But raising awareness, identifying vulnerabilities, and increasing content security preparedness and industry standards are all core goals at the heart of the Trusted Partner Network (TPN), supporting our collective mission of keeping content secure.
The increase in cybercrime and the sophistication of attacks can feel overwhelming. Following best practices, understanding that attention to content security is a year-round activity, and building a company culture that counts content security as a business priority are all critical to protecting the content we interact with daily.
TPN uses the Motion Picture Association (MPA) content security best practices as its foundation to ensure a consistent and global approach to content security. The best practices are relevant up and down the supply chain regardless of the service and content you are working on. If you’re working with content in the media and entertainment industry, being associated with a centralized and standardized community-focused initiative has many business benefits. Through its comprehensive program, TPN is providing an affordable way for Service and Application Providers of all sizes (from independent to multi-subsidiary organizations) and locations to communicate their commitment to protecting their customers’ content and focusing on their own security preparedness throughout the content lifecycle.
With the TPN+ platform, members have a single method to communicate their security status to all customers, avoiding duplicate efforts. Plus, members can regularly update and manage their profiles to indicate which services they provide at which sites, list the in-house developed or licensed applications they use, upload important security documentation, and complete TPN questionnaires and assessments, whether they’re self-attested or completed by a third-party assessor.
A recent success story is BLACKLIST, an independent creative agency based in London and Amsterdam that joined TPN in 2023 and incorporated the TPN Gold assessment into their security protocols, showing their commitment to content security and aligning with best practices.
“This not only helps in protecting our valuable content but also positions BLACKLIST as a trusted and secure partner in the media and entertainment industry, said Dom Ho, Co-Founder and Joint Managing Director at BLACKLIST. “Adhering to TPN security standards, we can reduce the risk of security breaches, data leaks, and intellectual property theft. This is crucial in an industry where content protection is paramount and our reputation as a secure organisation is critical. Being a part of TPN enables BLACKLIST to connect with a global network of content creators and service providers, potentially opening doors to new partnerships and business opportunities. The ongoing nature of TPN assessments and the evolving best practices encourages our culture of continuous improvement in content security measures.”
The platform also leverages existing control frameworks such as ISO, which offers maximum efficiency for our members to communicate all their non-TPN security certifications via a centralized database and registry. In addition, the TPN questionnaire and assessment help in identifying vulnerabilities, and guides members to implement necessary remedial actions to enhance their own content security.
Content Owners find the one industry/one assessment appealing, as it serves as an efficient single source of truth when they’re performing their own independent due diligence to make informed decisions regarding the service and software providers they each choose to work with. Likewise, Service Providers who subcontract work can also use the TPN+ registry to assess whether their subcontractors' security status aligns with their own requirements and those of their customers.
Zille Media has experienced numerous business benefits by making data and content security an integral part of its company identity. “Content security is very intentional for our organization, which is reflected in our thoroughly structured policies and procedures. Our TPN assessment and the MPA Best Practices have helped us raise our security standards to a level we can proudly share with our clients, highlighting our commitment to keeping their content safe,” said Idunn Sofie Riise, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Zille Media, a TPN member and provider of a cloud-based media platform for localisation and accessibility technology. “Robust security measures were some of the earliest developments the company implemented and are at the heart of how its technology operates,” she added. “TPN is also considered the most vetted and trusted content security initiative in the industry, and being a member has elevated our conversations with new and existing clients alike.”
With more than 900 Service/Application Provider members across 60+ countries, and backed by major studios and Content Providers, TPN is considered the number one industry standard for content security. Together with the MPA’s Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), a global coalition for reducing digital piracy, these initiatives provide a 360-degree approach to content security and protection for content.
