M+E Connections

The Content Distribution & Security Association (CDSA) is shifting back to its core principles: community, leadership, and being the glue that brings people and solutions together around common issues.

We’re all in with a hybrid participation approach. Every event or meeting will have a traditional physical aspect for those that can (or choose). But we have also added virtual participation through the RendezVu metaverse tool, Zoom, and, of course, phone. Now you can network formally and casually in much the same ways that have been a core value of CDSA, from anywhere.

Now everyone can participate, at all levels. All types of leaders and companies including suppliers and partners can now join CDSA (not just content companies), and at all levels including joining the CDSA board, helping us determine CDSA’s direction for the future.

To make this easier, we have also created new membership tiers that include a level for smaller companies as well as one for multi-conglomerates/multinationals/multi-brands so that everyone can participate, but also so everyone can have a voice at the table.

We are also expanding our focus on leadership, and how we can facilitate the sharing of experiences, approaches, and perspectives across our membership, leveraging the fact that we have many senior leaders with significant insights that can help the next generation of leaders be better equipped to respond to the evolution of the world and our industry.

CDSA’s topic-based working groups have always been a core focus, and this will continue with more intensity and breadth.

Currently, we have multi-company teams working the security/business areas of production security, content licensing, and streaming devices. And we’re adding new areas which our membership considers high-priority issues, including virtual production, credential/account fraud, and the business value around security/risk management.

In terms of core security focus, the protection of “content” has been and continues to be our focus. But as content and the ways it is made and distributed has become digital, the threats have also changed and evolved.

Today’s threat landscape now spans content security, information security, and physical security disciplines.

And that might mean three separate teams within a company, or all within one role.

To address this, CDSA has added the Media and Entertainment Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ME-ISAC) as part of the association.

Its deep focus on cyber and infosec areas covers a general “digital security” focus for those that might be less-technical, but still need to understand the risks and ways to “think and lead” across this very complex landscape.

Today’s “security frameworks” cover distinct areas but also have significant redundancy. Instead of creating yet another security framework for M&E, CDSA has created a “Rosetta Stone” offering that shows how each major industry framework (Trusted Partner Network, Cloud Security Alliance, Open Web Application Security Project, SOC and ISO) and unique company frameworks (such as Amazon Studios’ site and app security) all map to one-another.

This allows us to start, as an industry, to finally understand and recognise the various security efforts, in a contributing fashion, to overall risk-management approaches.

And CDSA is expanding internationally. There’s already a group of members in EMEA focused on the complex areas of content localisation and distribution.

We’re also aiming to establish regional focuses in APAC, LTAM, Japan, and China, all of which have unique challenges.

We have great leaders and great solutions across our industry and being the “glue” that connects people around those has long been a hallmark of CDSA.

Part of what makes CDSA great are its sister organisations including the Hollywood IT Society (HITS), Women in Technology Hollywood (WiTH), MESA, and the Entertainment ID Registry (EIDR), all collectively representing M&E from different, overlapping areas. We bring these organisations and others closer together to share and address common issues.

We are a community of many leaders and great approaches, one that welcomes connecting our industry, to spotlight the content protection and cybersecurity challenges all of us face.

In short, there’s more happening with CDSA than ever before, and our community focus has never been stronger. Come and join us as we continue to bring leaders, ideas, and companies together to solve all of our common problems.

** By Richard Atkinson, President, CDSA **

=============================================

Click here to download the complete .PDF version of this article
Click here to download the entire Winter 2021 M&E Journal