Since livestreaming has become popular in recent years, they have become a great resource for online businesses to market, entertain, and educate potential customers. However, streams generate data in real-time that needs to be protected. Below you’ll find some of the basic and advanced methods that businesses use to secure their video-streamed content.
Live Data Protection Basics
Some data protection fundamentals apply to websites that offer live content. If a website is protected by things like a TLS certificate and HTTPS delivery, then the stream hosted on that website also benefits. These protocols wrap site data, including video, with a layer of encryption that outclasses sites without SSL/TLS certificates. The largest websites use HTTPS, especially in online industries. In iGaming, sites need to have TLS certificates to stay reliable and ensure content and transaction data are safe. So, when users access a stream like Crazy Time live, the TLS protection ensures data is encrypted when sent from the site to the user’s device. This allows iGaming sites to host game shows that engage with their audience base in real-time, with human hosts, while keeping both the business and client protected when it comes to data.
The process of getting TLS protection (which automatically upgrades your site to HTTPS and guarantees HTTPS data delivery) has been outlined by Cloudflare. Depending on the provider service, it can be free or cost very little, making it viable for small and large online businesses alike. Note that TLS certificates are often referred to as SSL certificates – they mean the same thing and provide the same protections to your organization’s website.
Server-Side Security
Going deeper than web hosting security, businesses should also think about server-side security. The live content on your website may be hosted on your servers, though most business owners prefer to use a streaming service and embed it into the site instead. Either way, where the livestream is stored can be important for security reasons.
Servers need to be secured because they are the data hub of your site, where customer credentials and other important information are kept. In fact, businesses are often legally obligated to protect customer data per the GDPR and CCPA. It’s also good business, ensuring everything runs smoothly and customers are satisfied.
Once again, large websites that provide streaming opt for top-rate server protection. This even includes owning their own server rooms that are kept hidden from public view and heavily monitored. Most businesses can’t afford that, so they opt to rent some server space instead. Ensure that your hosting servers have multi-level firewall support, along with audits and pen testing. That support might cost more than cheaper hosting solutions, but you’re paying for important security measures.
IP Data Protection Methods
Lastly, there may be IP data concerns when providing live content. For example, the possibility of someone screen recording on their device and capturing a copy of the video. While that copy might not have the unique appeal that a live stream has, it can be a problem if the stream is behind a paywall.
Fortunately, businesses can access software that protects streamed content even when it arrives at the user’s device. It can black out the screen when it detects screen recording software, for instance. This is used by Netflix and other streaming services to protect shows unique to their platforms. This can also be used to prevent screenshots for cloud-hosted documents.
Failing that, watermarks have been used by businesses for decades now. If there is a concern about IP and who owns the streamed content, displaying your business information on-screen will make it plain to see. Other software can also display the user’s information pertaining to the paywall – i.e their email address. This means that they cannot redistribute without implicating themselves.
