It has been estimated that video will make up for more than 70% of all internet traffic by the end of 2019. Live video streaming is already the most engaging form of communication and on-demand video streaming solutions have been on the rise as more and more people are looking to stream their entertainment or to communicate or find information online.
One of the most important aspects of video streaming platforms is security. Since on-demand and live video streaming is being used more and more, they are also facing more security risks in today’s online climate. There are a number of reasons for video streaming solutions have to focus hard on security, including:
- A lot of video streaming platforms have original intellectual property that needs to be protected.
- Corporate video streaming solutions can contain sensitive data that might be used maliciously.
- Government streaming services need to be secure in order to prevent abuse of those platforms.
In this blog, we’re going to take a look at the important security features required for live video streaming platforms and on-demand video streaming solutions. In order to secure live streaming services, different aspects of the system have to be considered and checked for vulnerabilities to provide a safe experience for all the users.
Important Features For A Secure Online Video Platform:
Content Restriction
Most video streaming platforms have features that allow the content to be restricted within certain parameters. The two major ways in which content is often restricted in online video platforms are as follows – domain restriction and geographical restriction.
Geographical restrictions prevent access to content depending on regions while domain restriction prevents access to content depending on the domain of the website. Content restriction features are a part of secure live streaming services as they prevent unwarranted access to the content on the online video platform.
Password Protection
The most basic level of security is password protection and it is considered one of the fundamental safety features of an online video platform. As relevant by the name, password protection is a feature that enables you to protect your content with a password so only people with a password can get access to the content and the features of the video streaming platform.
Passwords are heavily targeted in most cybersecurity attacks and it is advised to use strong passwords that can’t be easily guessed. However, only having password protection is not enough and is only one security feature of an online video platform.
Paywall Protection
Most video content creators would prefer to monetize their content, if not right at the starting then definitely at some point in the future. There are two ways to tackle the monetization issue – one is to use the advertising method where an advertisement is used to generate revenue on the content and the other is to charge for the right to access the video.
Paywall protection is a security feature on online video platforms that ensures only paid users of the platform get access to the content as opposed to the content being open to all, like in the case of open video platforms like YouTube, which monetizes their content via advertising.
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Token Authorization System
The protocol for streaming video over the internet involves a concept called tokens. These tokens are essentially bits of information that can be used to identify who is accessing the stream. A token authorization system is a safety feature that allows the online video platform to verify that all video streams on the platform are being accessed by only those who are authorized to do so.
This security feature works using tokens and hence is referred to as a token authorization system and it is a safeguard against unauthorized access to the content hosted or streamed on an online video platform.
HTTPS
HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) was the standard protocol which was used to transfer data from the webserver to the browser. HTTPS (HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure) is a relatively new protocol that is an upgrade over HTTP in the sense that it has additional security features. The major game-changer for the upgrade was the use of SSL (secure sockets layer) certificate, which ensures better security in the connection between servers and browsers.
Any online video platform today should use HTTPS as part of its security features and should be considered an essential, standard, feature instead of a high-end security feature.
AES Video Encryption
AES stands for Advanced Encryption Standard, a protocol that is used to transfer sensitive information over the internet. Initially, it was used by the US government to transfer their sensitive data but has become available for the public to use today.
In the context of video streaming, it is easy to understand how AES works conceptually – when a video is streaming from the server, the data is constantly scrambled using an encryption key and it can only be decoded by a receiver who has the encryption key, thus creating a secure connection between the streamer and the viewer.
Most online video platforms should offer AES video encryption as a standard security feature. This makes the platform more secure as it ensures the connection between the streaming server and the receiving viewer is heavily secured, which prevents unauthorized access to the content of the platform.
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Why Security is Vital in Today’s Internet?
We live in an increasingly digital world where cybersecurity is a major concern. It is even more major for content creators using online video platforms as a lack of proper security can lead to piracy of their content which can lead to major loss of revenue. Other than just content creators, almost everyone should ensure they are safe online and security features should be a top priority for every online video platform.
Conclusion
Dreamcast is an end-to-end dedicated live streaming company which will handle all your live streaming needs from equipment, network, to overall management of your live streaming strategy. We value security in today’s internet more than ever and consider it a vital part of any online video platform on the internet today.
