b<>com and Viaccess-Orca make clear round at the Cartesian Watermark Evaluation
February 26, 2020
Viaccess-Orca (VO), a global platerer providing OTT and TV platforms, content protection, and advanced data solutions, has announced that its Dynamic Watermarking solution developed in collaboration with b<>com, a European private research institute, has undergone a stringent assessment carried out by Cartesian, an independent consultancy company for the communications and digital media industries. Co-developed by VO and b<>com, the Stream Guardian technology provides algorithms for VO’s Dynamic Watermarking. According to specifications set by the Hollywood movie industry, Cartesian tested the robustness of the solution through its Farncombe Security Audit® Watermark. During the audit, the technology passed all the robustness tests, which check the watermark’s ability to withstand attempts to obfuscate it or prevent it from being recovered. Stream Guardian passed the assessment thanks to its live-optimized analysis algorithm.
“Our content security team carried out a robustness test of the Stream Guardian technology. The watermark was subjected to multiple tests, which have been designed in partnership with Hollywood studios,” said Lee Kent, Head of Content Security at Cartesian. “These tests replicate the tampering techniques used to illegally reproduce and distribute video content. By putting the technology through the rigorous Farncombe Security Audit Watermark process, it’s evident that b<>com and VO are committed to protecting valuable content against piracy.”
The technology features best-in-class algorithms capable of resisting a wide range of piracy attacks, such as camcording, strong lossy compression, and collusions. Using VO’s Dynamic Watermarking, part of the award-winning set of services in VO’s Anti-Piracy Center, content owners can launch VOD and live campaigns and swiftly identify the source of piracy. Since operators develop their application with VO secure video player, the watermarking is integrated on the client side, which is a more cost-effective approach than server-side watermarking.
“The results are all the more remarkable since we do not use any metadata for video analysis to facilitate the integration of our product,” said Gaëtan Le Guelvouit, Trust and Security Lab Manager at b<>com. “The expertise at b<>com and VO sets Stream Guardian technology apart from other watermarking techniques, and we’re proud to validate its robustness through the Cartesian assessment.”
“Passing the Cartesian audit with flying colors is a testament to our expertise in solving the inherent security challenges that exist in today’s digital TV and OTT environments,” said Pierre-Alexandre Bidard, Vice President Marketing Security and Partnership, Viaccess-Orca. “Collaborating with b<>com, we’re setting a new standard with the VO Dynamic Watermarking solution for keeping premium content safe from new and evolving forms of piracy.”
The audit report is available from b<>com and Viaccess-Orca upon request.