The Media and Entertainment Industry needs to upgrade Cybersecurity Parameters
Media and entertainment companies are one of the primary targets for cyberattacks worldwide. Businesses in this sector are most vulnerable to cybercrime as most of these businesses are pivoting towards an internet-led model to deliver their services and media content on the go. The media industry is also highly reliant on third-party vendors, which gives cybercriminals more opportunity to trespass and have a disaster across the network. Most of the CIOs in media and entertainment firms are skeptical about the third-party vendors and are not sure about the security standards they follow. Businesses can risk their intellectual property and digital assets by partnering through dubious third-party vendors. Until and unless the partner is audited, businesses can’t figure out if the company has been hacked in the last 12 months. This lack of transparency requires cybersecurity parameters to ensure a secure business.
Cybersecurity is not a privilege anymore.
Viruses have been the most common cyber vulnerability in the media and entertainment firms, followed by phishing schemes and data breaches in the company’s infrastructure. Many companies have underestimated the risk of cybercrimes, and more than 50% of the company’s reported that their security strategy will prevent a cyberattack and were still prone to a data breach. Companies overestimate their security infrastructure, and more than 64% of the respondents in a Cybersecurity report by Gartner suggests that enterprises wish to increase their investment and cybersecurity measures as the technology landscape is changing. On the other hand, insurance companies are also not providing covers for cyber incidents for enterprises, which makes it harder for companies to secure their current infrastructure.
The Threat of cyberattacks on Media Industry
Hackers worldwide are finding innovative ways to breach security systems and controls for media and entertainment companies. Hackers are targeting intellectual property and vital information such as customer credit card numbers, bank details, and has become a massive concern for the industry. Moreover, these breaches and hacks have irreversible effects on the company’s goodwill and directly impact the profitability, reputation, and business model.
For media companies, data like emails, personal information, and user history, are driving agents for revenue growth and to increase shareholder value as well. The protection of these assets is quintessential for any media company. The insurance companies are still not equipped to secure and provide cover for or technology-led business models.
As people become increasingly more connected in the virtual arena and as technology progresses to more and more people around the globe, adoption of media and entertainment services are prone to grow by adopting cloud solutions, social and Mobile Technologies. This also puts companies at significant risk and offers opportunities for companies to create cyber security-based products and services as a new revenue stream.
In 2018, Tech giant Facebook faced The Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal, which caused the global consumers to question digital platforms. Hereafter, organizations around the globe have been taking cybercrimes and privacy more seriously. Chief Technology Officers are evident of the cybercrime risks and how it impacts their organization’s value on long-term. While many entities are still not clear whether their network and data have already been hacked or lost, it requires digital audits into databases to understand what kind of valuable information enterprises have already lost.
Cybercrimes in Media and Entertainment Arena
Cybercrimes are growing rapidly in number and have become more sophisticated with time. Media and entertainment companies are finding it challenging to stay ahead of these criminals. Last year alone, the annual loss of complaints referred to cybercrime amounted to over 3.5 billion U.S. dollars, up from 1 billion U.S. dollars in 2015. From hacking websites to DDoS (Distributed denial-of-service) attacks and stealing of confidential information, cybercriminals have also held vital information for ransomware and have also entered into the market of cryptocurrency. As cryptocurrency is not traceable, it is the preferred currency for hackers to ask ransom in this medium. It’s challenging to completely eliminate cyber risk as they are held with utter sophistication and are finding new ways every day. With this evolving landscape, enterprises can also hire ethical hackers to continually check on their networks and systems to safeguard against real hackers.
The C-level executives need to take cybersecurity as an alarming concern for their enterprises, followed by the IT team, which can dig deeper and resolve the concerns. Organizations need to reposition and reconsider their security strategy by closely linking new technologies and tools to imbibe risk management activities and prioritize organizations’ goals and secure valuable assets from perceived threats. The business ecosystem requires to be interconnected with all partners and grow resilience on collaboration and third-party tools by making the entire ecosystem transparent and secure.
Perfect security is a myth. It requires various methodologies with pragmatic approaches for constant growth and innovation to drive in the digital world. By clearly defining the cybersecurity program, executives can help media and entertainment companies to manage attacks and breaches in a better way and take informed decision-making processes to become more resilient and efficient in security practices.
