Technology has been advancing every day, and new ways of reaching audiences have emerged. You can now reach out to prospects and share information with them in a flash wherever they are. Besides, people can now access any resources they want at any time with a few clicks.
Beyond that, you can now get your music and any visual content out there quickly. Streaming services are becoming more popular and a go-to option for people who’d want to get their content out there quickly. Many online platforms are acting as bridges between content creators and audiences.
However, some substantial drawbacks affect how technology works for content creators and their audiences. The risk of cyber-attacks keeps rising every day, and the online environment isn’t safe anymore. The security of Internet users is now a growing concern on most streaming platforms.
The number of cybercrime incidents keeps increasing, and the types of attacks also keep changing. Thus, you have to take a few precautions if you regularly use these services to reach your audience or access information. This article looks into the reasons why you need security when using these services.
Here is all you need to know.
- Streaming Services Cybersecurity: A Growing Problem
- Sometimes, Sharing isn’t Caring
- Cyber Threats Faced by Streaming Apps
- How to Protect Online Streaming Accounts?
- How to Increase Streaming Services Cybersecurity Effectiveness?
Streaming Services Cybersecurity: A Growing Problem
As mentioned earlier, cyber-attacks are increasing every day, and the techniques used keep changing. Research shows that there’s a new cyberattack every 39 seconds in today’s online environment. Besides, one out of three Americans experiences an attack every year, and half of the companies have been attacked.
In the streaming service industry, there’re records of a few attacks in recent years. Disney+ got hacked into, and attackers accessed user account details. MixCloud also got attacked, and over 20 million user data got exposed to hackers. Other streaming services that have been hacked include Hulu and Netflix.
Most of these attacks target small companies because of their weak security systems. A 2017 research by SmallBizTrends showed that 43% of these attacks target startups. Lack of enough funds and the technology to prevent such attacks make such businesses more vulnerable.
But then, cyberattacks can be devastating when they happen. Whether you have a big or small business, losing your customer data to criminals can be costly. A simple data breach can be a reason for your business to lose trust with your customers and fall.
What puts many companies at stake is the fact that they do not have in-house cybersecurity experts. You will find an unfilled cybersecurity position at almost every organization. That shows many companies are yet to come to grips with why investing in security is vital.
Streaming service providers need a cybersecurity team more than any others. Companies providing these services have been targets recently because of the many security holes in their systems. It has become imperative for streaming companies and content users to fight back with better security.
Sometimes, Sharing isn’t Caring
Password sharing creates significant security loopholes for content streaming services. According to Magid, young people aged between 23-38 share online streaming passwords with friends. But then, the danger of password sharing is much more significant than it looks to the people who share them.
Sharing your password with friends and family gives rise to credential stuffing. If your password ends up in the wrong hands by mistake, hackers will use it to access your data on other websites. For instance, they can use your login credential to dig up your credit card information.
Many streaming platforms are cracking down on password sharing to protect their clients and systems. If you own a streaming service, you need to create strong policies on password usage early. Established platforms are using the following tips to prevent password sharing.
- Education – Educating your employees and customers about passwords and why they should be private is vital. Teaching your employees about the dangers of password sharing is investing in them.
- Policies – Good password hygiene is excellent for every business, and thus, you need to create policies that will ensure your employees practice it.
- Managing – It is Password managers are essential for businesses that have many employees. They come with great features that support healthy password sharing and two-factor authentication.
Those are some of the ways that you can protect your business against data sharing breaches. If you can educate your employees and develop good password-sharing policies, you will prevent your company’s ever-growing security threats.
As a user, you also have a role to play when it comes to password protection. Make sure that you do not share your credentials with family and friends. You will secure not only your streaming account when you avoid sharing your credentials but also protect your bank account, credit cards, etc.
Cyber Threats Faced by Streaming Apps
Many people do not take streaming service security as seriously as they do for their bank accounts. But then, security on streaming apps is essential as attackers devise new methods of stealing user data. If you’re using an online streaming platform, you need to protect yourself from common threats.
Here are some common attacks on streaming platforms.
1. Phishing Attack
A phishing attack comes from a phone call, a text message, or an email. An attacker poses as an institution or business, contacts you, and lures you into sharing your data. They can ask for anything from personal details, credit card information, or anything else they can use to extract more of your data.
Your employees may fail to resist any urge to open an email indicated as urgent. But then, you need to educate them about links attached to emails. If a mail contains links, it should be opened only after verifying that it is from a legit source; otherwise, avoid clicking on any links.
To exploit streaming platforms, attackers have created pseudo websites and social media pages. They entice unsuspecting Internet users with freebies and forms to submit their data to access them. Consequently, they end up with vast databases of personally identifiable information.
2. Account Takeover Attack
ATO attacks are becoming more prevalent than they’ve ever been on content streaming platforms. As an Internet user, someone hacking into your account and stealing crucial data should worry you. Attackers use this method to access user data with which they damage reputations or scam people.
Technically, a successful ATO will give the attacker uncensored access to your data. Thus, they can use it how they want, alter it, or share it with anyone. ATO attackers use bots to find accounts that have poor security features such as passwords. You may end up with financial losses if it happens to you.
3. Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) Attack
If you communicate through the Internet, you may be at risk of a MitM attack. The fact that users exchange vital data with content streaming platforms exposes them to these kinds of attacks. Attackers using this method intercept and later online communication and uses it to steal essential data.
The biggest threat to these attacks is that individuals with malicious intent can automate them. You will have a bot eavesdropping on your chats any time and extracting vital information to exploit you. For content streaming platforms, the data extracted by attackers using this method can end up being costly.
4. Credential Stuffing Attack
Credential stuffing is an attack that mainly aims at taking advantage of user accounts. It also uses automated bots to check online profiles and steal crucial data. These data may include login credentials that hackers use to gain personal accounts access and find bank account details for financial crimes.
You may expose your account to this type of attack by using the same password on multiple platforms. If a hacker gains access to one of your accounts, they will have access to your entire network. That will increase the severity of the attack and even affect other users.
5. Brute Force Attack
This type of attack is technically a try-and-error method for attackers. It occurs when attackers enter different login credentials systematically to guess what your actual logins could be. Although it may look unrealistic, this hacking technique has succeeded in the past.
Hackers do not enter these credentials manually. They employ bots to gain access to your account, and they can enter different usernames and passwords within a short time. That makes it easy to break and access your account. In the end, your details could be used by malicious people to scam others financially.
6. Malware
Malware is quite common on content streaming platforms. Most malware victims are people who try to gain unauthorized access or even take advantage of unofficial discounts and offers. It is vital to investigate links indicating discounts, free subscriptions, and more before you attempt to click on them.
Many links come with malicious programs that could be sources of attacks. Malware sent through malicious links is one of the leading causes of data breaches on streaming apps and websites. It would be best to verify that the link you want to use to access offers and discounts is legit and from an official site.
How to Protect Online Streaming Accounts?
Protecting your online activity is vital in today’s online environment. Various insights will help you if you’re looking to protect your content streaming accounts. However, the right tips may not help you if you do not implement them correctly.
Below are some of the best tips that will help you stream content securely.
1. Never re-use the exact login details on different websites
As mentioned earlier, using the same username and password on multiple websites is risky. It can be tempting to do this as many people tend to forget passwords. But then, it is better to invest in a password manager that will help you store your passwords rather than re-using the same credentials.
Brute force attacks are familiar to people who use the same credentials on different platforms. If attackers use this method to gain access to one of your accounts, then the rest of your network will also be at risk. When possible, make sure that you use multi-factor authentication to enhance security.
2. Avoid installing any unofficial apps or programs
Streaming platforms can restrict their apps in specific locations due to security issues. If you’re in a restricted area, you mustn’t install such applications because they’re not officially allowed in your area. Installing them could expose you to various risks, which could end up being costly.
It is vital to download applications from official content streaming websites. Or you can also download from application stores where they’re verified for official usage. That will help you avoid leaving security loopholes or sending your credentials to malicious websites and apps.
Don’t be blinded by downloading a paid app or software for free, as these usually have malware that comes with downloading them. In worst cases, your device will be infected with ransomware, forcing you to wipe everything from your device, losing all your precious data.
If you’re downloading, for example, an app for a platform that offers free music promotion, check their official site first. Look for the exact instructions on how to download their app. If they mention that it’s only available in the Apple App Store, it’s only available there. If you find the same app for Android devices, then it’s most likely a fake app that’s used to attack users taking advantage of the platform’s good intentions.
3. Routinely check for logged-in devices
Hackers can log in to your account as you use it, and you won’t even notice it. If you’re using a content streaming platform, make sure that you regularly check if there’s another person logged in on it. The best thing is that many streaming platforms enable users to check whether they’re logged-in devices.
If there’re unknown devices logged in, the best thing is to change your password immediately. Also, check the settings, then click on log out from all devices. Once you do that, you can now log in again with the new details. That will help to prevent malicious individuals from getting into your network again.
4. Maintain your computer regularly
You put your network at risk if you do not maintain it regularly. Even though it doesn’t relate to content streaming sites directly, updating your computer software and keeping it in perfect condition helps. Although regular maintenance can be time-consuming and overwhelming, it is an efficient way to secure your network.
Ensure that you regularly scan your computer using antivirus software. That will help you detect any malware and prevent possible data breaches. Besides, it would help if you cleared any unnecessary computer programs to reduce any unseen security holes existing on your device.
5. Don’t just cancel; delete your data too
If you no longer want to use a service and would like to cancel it, make sure that you exit entirely. Many people ignore the correct exit process from streaming services. You can never be sure about how the service provider uses your data after you exit, and thus, you need to leave with it.
Many people lose their data to criminals because they didn’t secure it. The streaming service provider may cease to protect your data ad expose it to people with malicious intent. You may find a provider who sells your data to such individuals in rare yet possible cases once you exit cancel service.
You should ask the company to delete all your data from its system if you do not intend to use it in the future. Some companies have a feature that allows you to self-delete data from their network if you do not plan to use the service again. If you have got a problem deleting your data, make sure that you ask for help.
6. Don’t click on suspicious mail
As mentioned earlier, phishing attacks have become too familiar these days. It is common to find emails in your inbox that look official from content streaming sites while they’re not. It would be best to have proper background checks to verify whether the sender is legit before you click on the mail.
Many of the counter techniques that have been developed to help beat suspicious mail aren’t reliable as you’d expect. Attackers manage to beat security checks and have their emails arrive at their victims’ inbox without getting marked as spam.
The first thing you need to do is check the URL of the sender. If the email is talking about a discount or free subscription, you can check on the official website to be sure. It also helps contact the support team to ensure that the link is legit before you click on it.
How to Increase Streaming Services Cybersecurity Effectiveness?
Streaming services have become vital in today’s online environment. Many streaming service providers offer paid and free music marketing and other content over the Internet. Some measures should always be in our minds to protect ourselves when using these services.
However, the security measures you put into protecting yourself and your network may not be sufficient sometimes. That makes it vital to make them more effective to secure your network ultimately and not expose yourself to further risks or waste resources. Here’re some ways that you can improve the effectiveness of your efforts.
1. Incident response plans
Streaming service providers must come with ways to respond to incidents quickly. A good content streaming platform should have efficient ways of responding to data breaches. Besides response, they should have ways of detecting them to ensure that their answers are prompt.
A good response plan should be quick and effective in addressing data breaches. Besides, every streaming service provider needs to rehearse its response plan regularly. That will help employees understand how they should handle any attacks that threaten their networks and user accounts.
2. Discovering and prioritizing assets
It is vital for streaming service providers to check their systems regularly. By regularly checking your system, you get to discover the assets that you need most to run your business. It is vital to employ people who can help you analyze your business’s various assets to use these assets resourcefully.
Different assets affect businesses differently. Therefore, you should determine the assets that affect your business the most before you prioritize them. Properly prioritizing your assets will make it easier for you to protect your data and the entire system.
3. Safety measures
You also need to put the best safety measures in place to get the best out of your online activity. Content streaming service providers need to determine the security loopholes that could be existing on their networks and find ways to shut them to secure their networks and user accounts.
Your safety measures should include internal and external plans. Your internal measures should focus on employee education, data center security, etc. External security should aim at making sure that malicious people and software do not get access to your network and also help you avoid DOS attacks.
4. Vet third parties
Third-party applications and software can also threaten your security if you don’t keep them in mind. Protecting your data should involve carefully vetting third parties that would like to integrate with your application or website. Malicious software can gain access to your network through third parties.
You need to have strict rules that will help you detect malicious third parties. Third-party vendors have to meet the requirements you set to access your network. Besides, it would help if you restricted them to specific features that they need, as allowing them access to your entire network will make you vulnerable.
Conclusion
Technology is a massive part of today’s world, but it acts as a double-edged sword. Although it makes communication efficient and effective, it also puts users at risk. Whether you’re using online streaming services or social media platforms, there’s a need to secure your data now more than ever before.
We now have more power at our fingertips and can access any information we need. But then, the online platforms we use to access the information we need aren’t safe. Content providers and users need to ensure that they have the systems in place to protect them.
If you use content streaming platforms, you now understand why it is vital to invest in cybersecurity. For owners of these platforms, maintaining customer trust is critical. Data breaches can affect your relationship with customers and make it challenging to keep an audience and make revenues.
The tips in this article are vital for streaming service providers and their customers. Securing a massive network with millions of potential security holes is never easy. But then, you can do it if you have the right tips, like those mentioned above. However, you have to implement them correctly for the best results.