The Importance of Digital Rights Management (DRM)
An organization’s software commonly contains intellectual property and an organization’s “secret sauce”. Companies also have publicly-exposed services that could be accessed or abused by unauthorized users.
An organization’s intellectual property and ability to monetize its products or services may be at risk due to reverse engineering. Also, the rise of peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing networks like Torrent makes it easier for unauthorized copies of software and other content to be shared.
DRM helps an organization to enforce its copyrights and protections for its software and intellectual property. By making it more difficult for a user to access unauthorized versions of a company’s content or access services without authorization, DRM protects the profitability and viability of the business.
How Digital Rights Management Works
DRM works by adding additional code or data to a product that is designed to protect against unauthorized use. For example, an application may require a license code to activate or may have built-in security controls that set limits on the number of devices that can be used with a service or on the duration of the user’s access to the software or service.
DRM often enforces these restrictions via the use of encryption. Without a valid license key or communication with a license server, the software doesn’t have access to the decryption key required to unlock critical data or functionality, rendering it non-functional. DRM also may incorporate safeguards against other threats as well. For example, documents may be watermarked to show ownership, and software may restrict screenshots or copy-paste when displaying sensitive information to the user.
Benefits of Digital Rights Management
Implementing DRM can provide various benefits to an organization or individual creator. Some of the benefits of DRM include the following:
- Ownership Proof: Companies and individuals need a means of proving and protecting their ownership of their inventions. DRM helps to protect against unauthorized copying or use of these inventions.
- Income Stream Protection: An organization’s or individual’s intellectual property (IP) is essential to the success of their business. DRM helps to protect this IP against misuse or abuse.
- License Management: An organization may wish to license the use of its data, software, etc. to others. DRM helps them to enforce the terms of the license, preventing the use of the content on unauthorized devices or outside of the scope of the license agreement.
- Data Security: DRM solutions can help to protect sensitive data against unauthorized access or potential abuse. For example, preventing copy-paste and screenshots can make it more difficult for an attacker to collect and disseminate sensitive data.
DRM Use Cases
DRM can be applied to various use cases. Some common examples include the following:
- Artistic Expression: Books, movies, and other art can easily be copied or used without the artist providing consent and being paid royalties. DRM can be used to limit access to this media to authorized users.
- Data Security: DRM can help an organization to protect an organization’s sensitive data against unauthorized access and potential breach. It can also be sued to investigate incidents by enabling an organization to track the source of breached and leaked content.
- Data Integrity: Digital content may be edited without the owner’s and distributor’s permission. DRM can be used to ensure that sensitive information has not been modified without permission.
- Intellectual Property: An organization may have various forms of intellectual property, including patents, research and development (R&D) information, marketing materials, and other information. A DRM solution can help to secure this information across an organization’s systems.
Security with Check Point Solutions
DRM solutions provide organizations with the ability to track and manage access to their software and other intellectual property. Watermarks, embedded codes, and other tools can be used to demonstrate copyright ownership, track IP, and otherwise manage access to its data and solutions.
Data loss prevention (DLP) solutions are a logical complement to DRM. They also help to protect an organization’s IP against unauthorized access and a potential breach by monitoring for keywords and sensitive content within outbound data flows.
Check Point’s next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) have built-in data security controls and DLP functionality to protect data flows via FTP and other protocols. Learn more about what to look for in an NGFW in this buyer’s guide. Then, see the capabilities of Check Point Quantum NGFWs for yourself by signing up for a free demo.
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