Unveiling the Hidden Risks: How VPNs Pose a Real Threat to Streaming Services

In an era of booming streaming services, the battle against piracy intensifies. As the demand for video content skyrockets, so do attempts to exploit services for free or low-cost entertainment, fueling the rise of piracy on Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms.

Understanding VPNs and Their Types

VPN, or Virtual Private Network, initially designed for secure network access, has now become a tool for illicit content access. One popular piracy strategy involves using VPNs to bypass geo-restrictions on OTT platforms.

Three primary categories of VPN services exist:

1. Corporate VPN Services: Designed for business purposes, offering secure access to a company’s resources for remote employees.
2. Commercial VPN Services: Used by individuals for security, privacy, and, unfortunately, for illegal practices like evading censorship or accessing region-locked content.
3. Free VPN Services: Often used for non-work-related purposes, these services let users browse the web as if in a different location but come with potential security risks.

The Evolution of VPN Providers: Residential VPN

To counter streaming services identifying VPN usage, providers evolved, introducing residential VPN proxy services. These services utilize regular consumers’ residential IP addresses, making it challenging for streaming platforms to distinguish between legitimate and VPN traffic.

Residential IP Hijacking: The Threat Unveiled

Users, often unknowingly, allow their IPs to be taken over by free VPN providers. Residential IP hijacking involves leveraging these IPs to support commercial VPN traffic, enabling users to bypass geo-restrictions undetected.

Risks Posed to Streaming Services

The use of VPNs, particularly through residential IP hijacking, poses significant risks to streaming services:

1. Content Obligations at Risk: Failure to ensure premium content accessibility only within allowed regions may lead to violations of exclusivity agreements with rights holders, resulting in penalties and legal issues.
2. Revenue Impact: Geo-piracy threatens the business models of OTT providers, as users can access the same premium content from regions with lower subscription fees, impacting revenue and subscriber loyalty.

Finding a Real Solution

By packaging 4 DRMs in one product (Including: Sigma – by Thudo Multimedia, Widevine- by Google, Fairplay-by Apple, PlayReady- by Microsoft) – this becomes an advantage that helps Sigma Multi-DRM to cover many than devices like Linux, or Opera browsers, UCweb, etc. Furthermore, Sigma Multi-DRM is also equipped with an exclusive invention that is the 3rd layer of security (Sigma Active Observer-SAO) to help the DRM system proactively detect abnormalities from the device. With Sigma Multi-DRM, it can be said that risks such as using VPN to illegally use cross-nation contents are mostly prevented immediately.

Discover how Sigma OTT, Thudo Multimedia’s cutting-edge solution, can proactively tackle VPN-related threats, ensuring the security and integrity of your streaming platform.

Stay tuned for more insights on securing your streaming platform!