How Do I Protect My Video Content?

The global video-on-demand market is estimated to reach $98.69 billion in 2022. Furthermore, it will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.29% to hit $135.7 billion by 2026. These incredible figures underline how immensely popular video streaming is and why so many organizations leverage it as part of their marketing strategies. To dive deeper, read our complete guide to video content management systems.

But success often comes with increased risk, and the video-on-demand sector is no different. That’s why any organization utilizing video content must consider and protect against potential security threats and stop its videos from being used in ways they're not supposed to be.

How Can I Protect My Video Content?

Video content protection is a crucial consideration for companies. Fortunately, there are a number of solutions that help minimize the risks associated with publishing videos online, meaning organizations don’t need to go it alone.

Here are several ways to protect your video content:

• Password protection: Perhaps the simplest way to add an element of protection to your videos is with a password. While a password can be easily shared, it does stop your content from being freely accessed.
• Watermarking: Watermarking involves adding a visible or invisible watermark to your videos. While this doesn't necessarily prevent them from being openly viewed, it does add an element of traceability, and you can determine the source of a leak should your content fall into the wrong hands. This reality discourages people from sharing your video in ways that it wasn’t intended. 
• Domain restriction: Domain restriction prevents videos from being distributed to platforms other than those they should be. For example, you can use domain restriction to ensure a video is only viewable on your own website and nowhere else.
• Internet Protocol (IP) address restriction: With IP restriction, a video is only accessible by people whose device IP addresses fall within a certain range. This method of video content protection works well when you want to restrict access to people outside of your network, making it a good choice for schools, colleges, and organizations.
• User agent restriction: User agents are computer programs representing a person in a browser or web-based context. They can be any software acting on behalf of a user that retrieves, renders, and facilitates end-user interaction with web content. User agent restriction blocks specific browser or web application user agent request headers. A user agent request field is included in the HTTP header and contains a string that lets servers and network peers identify the application, operating system, vendor, or version of the requesting user agent. By blocking certain user agents from accessing your content, you can prevent spam bots, download managers, and other browsers that might send a fake user agent string to spoof a user and gain unauthorized access to your content.

What Is DRM Video?

If you’re serious about protecting your video content, you’ll likely come across Digital Rights Management (DRM) video encryption in your research.

DRM video encryption is a method of restricting access to a video so it can only be accessed by those it's intended for. This is achieved by using software to encrypt the video, which can then only be accessed by people with the right key. 

What sets DRM apart from other encryption methods is that the key itself is protected—it's never given to the end user, reducing the chances of it being stolen or passed on. Should the key fall into the wrong hands and be used by someone who shouldn’t have it, additional levels of security prevent the content from being unlocked.

It's DRM video encryption that prevents you from transferring and playing files downloaded from iTunes or similar programs to devices other than the one the content was purchased on.

All Your Video Content Secured in One, Easy-to-Manage Place

Zype’s VideoMeta CMS is an all-in-one OTT (over-the-top) video content management system designed to not only make your life easier but help you monetize and secure your videos—allowing you to get the most from the content you create.

Contact us to request a demo of our VideoMeta CMS so you can learn how our platform can help you easily, securely, and intuitively manage your organization’s video content.