Qube Cinema, a digital cinema company, has deployed Thales nShield hardware security modules (HSMs) from cybersecurity product firm Thales to protect a digital cinema distribution system.
In digital cinema, movies are encoded and encrypted into a Digital Cinema Package (DCP) and distributed by hard drive or satellite feed. They then can be decrypted at the theatre with information contained in a unique Key Delivery Message (KDM) that unlocks the film for a specific place and timeframe. To address the need for security in managing digital cinema keys, Qube used Thales Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) to develop KeySmith – a digital cinema key management and distribution system.
Filmmakers, producers and distributors can now encrypt their digital content and protect their intellectual property while still keeping it accessible to authorised users. For the full case study visit – www.thales-esecurity.com/knowledge-base/case-studies/qube-cinema.
What they say
Rajesh Ramachandran, President and CTO, Qube Cinema, says: “Piracy is a problem generally associated with digital content and no less so in the film industry where it is an enormous concern for both studios and distributors who lose billions of dollars each year when films are illegally copied and distributed. The encryption and decryption of content is not a major challenge, however the handling and management of security keys by both the cinema and content owners is. Thales is an expert in encryption key management and the protection of content and intellectual property, its products offer high levels of assurance and operational efficiency and have enabled Qube to develop an online digital cinema key management, distribution and reporting system that not only meets real-world requirements, but offers the highest levels of security while retaining flexibility and ease-of-use for our customers.”
And Cindy Provin, president, Thales e-Security Inc., says: “The challenges posed by key management are perceived by many as a major pain point and a barrier to encryption deployment (Ponemon: Global Encryption Trends 2013) and this is especially true for service providers. With more than 40 years’ experience providing key management solutions, we are excited that Qube selected Thales HSMs to address the need for efficient security and key management in distributing digital cinema. Thales HSMs are ideally positioned to help organisations with their crypto security and key management infrastructure in innovative ways by providing the capability, with CodeSafe, for applications to run within a secure environment inside the HSM. Our HSMs ensure integrity and trust but also scalability and resilience. Every day we are seeing pioneering and innovative applications of our technology and Qube Cinema is an excellent example of how Thales is able to solve the key management challenges they require.”
