The Future is Fort Knox and We Need to Be Ready
Out in LA for business earlier this year, I noticed a pattern. The second word often uttered after ‘hello’ was ‘security’. I’m sure anyone working in advertising or film and entertainment has experienced the stack of NDAs rising, the legals becoming more complex and the names of who your company has worked with on lockdown.
But it’s not without good reason. We are living in a digital age where technology has advanced faster than our processes to manage it. There is vast amounts of data ‘in the Cloud’ and many of us don’t really know what that means. Is it safe there? The world is beginning to catch up on how it works - in good ways and bad. According to a report by Cybersecurity Ventures: 'Cybercrime will cost the world $6 trillion annually by 2021, up from $3 trillion in 2015.' Quite shockingly, this equates to 'the greatest transfer of economic wealth in history, risks the incentives for innovation and investment, and will be more profitable than the global trade of all major illegal drugs combined.'
With the enormous reach of the internet, it’s more vital than ever to take extra precaution with your clients’ data. The smallest leak can reach millions within seconds, so it’s becoming the norm for clients to demand certain security measures and certifications as standard - particularly in long form entertainment but more and more so in advertising. However, for most companies it’s a big overhaul to put these measures in place. It’s not just a case of installing a firewall and getting better security cameras; it affects every working process of your business.
At SNK Studios we’ve just completed the TPN (Trusted Partner Network) security assessment: a joint venture between two major entertainment industry associations, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Content Delivery & Security Association (CDSA). Backed by some of the biggest film studios and content creators in the world, the TPN helps companies prevent leaks, breaches, and hacks of their members' movies and television shows prior to their intended release, and seeks to raise security awareness.
It became apparent as our client base expanded from advertising to long form and feature film that we needed to take our security system a lot more seriously - but it was no mean feat. The audit covered over 300 different checks across the business such as data, network, IT and building security, right down to processes such as HR, training and company culture. It took us the best part of the year to get through the assessment but it was worth it to be ready for the future; to greater protect and respect the material our clients share with us.
Like with all good things, updating your security takes a bit of time. But once you’re set up, you’re in a far better position to win the projects that you want. Admittedly, you may have several more hoops to jump through day to day but the era of just emailing this, that and the other around or sticking stuff in the Cloud are dying because of the nature of the risk.
To be ready for the future we must make time for change. Most importantly as an industry we should be educating everyone within our businesses, from the most junior to the most senior, about why these changes are important. When you do this kind of security overhaul, the creative process that staff have always known has to change in some areas. The certifications can seem disruptive. But when they fully understand and can be invested in the future of their company and their clients’ companies, these no longer seem like creative hurdles.
SNK has always prided itself on great sound, great mixing and great customer service. I’m sure many see the level of service they give as integral but in the future that’s not going to be enough. Trust and security need to go hand in hand with great service if you want to be ready for the reality of longform and feature film production and very soon to be advertising.
