Dear Entertainment Industry Executive,

Amidst our world’s current economic turmoil, your industry has been especially hard hit. As your industry struggles to regain its stride, you would be remiss to miss out on the unprecedented opportunities that are currently available.

I understand, when business is booming, there is little reason to retool anything. However, times are tough. Your profit margins aren’t what they used to be. Your business has finally come off the rails. As such, you need to figure out a way to put things back on track. There are two key ways that you should restructure to make sure that your financial future is sound:

Lock down your stuff.

Now is the time to secure your content. There is no excuse for the pitiful way that you have handled the content that you sell allow others to pirate. Digital piracy is avoidable. There are plenty of ways to secure virtually every form of digital content. And it doesn’t have to be cumbersome or cost your company hundreds of millions of dollars. Don’t believe it? Contact us today.

Distribute your own content online.

I know your corporation is huge, and that this probably (conveniently) falls outside of your department, but think about it: Why should your company sell the online retail rights to others when you can set up your own online retail enterprise for next to nothing?

It’s the 21^st century – distributors and retail outlets are largely pointless. While it may be cute to have your content on Best Buy’s dusty shelves, physical media is fundamentally inefficient and rapidly becoming obsolete. Switch to streaming.

Streaming is fast, cost-effective (no packaging or shipping), and can be completely secure. Be bold; hire a dozen nerds and launch a streaming site through which users can subscribe to your complete library of content for a monthly fee. It’s that easy.

Now’s the time for you to step up and be inventive. You could rebuild your corporation that way it was, or you could rebuild to embrace the future. Either way, you’re going to have to rebuild. You might as well use this time to create a lasting business model that is immune to the plagues of the last generation. Or you could just sit back and wait for your severance package to kick in.

Thank you for your time.

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Communication is the art of being understood. Communication in the business world is a multi-billion dollar gamble. One misinterpreted phrase from a business leader can send thousands of troops marching in the wrong direction.

I had the pleasure of working as an officer of a large restaurant corporation (think rocking chairs and front porches) for many years. Our founder would often speak of the importance of communication, alluding to the difficulty he faced in communicating his vision to the frontline employees. The company had grown so large that direct communication was virtually impossible. 

When communications get mired in corporate bureaucracy, you end up with diluted direction and impotent marching orders. For any CEO or founder, this communication vacuum is at the arc of their frustration. “If they could only do it like me,” becomes the mental mantra every time a pitiful profit and loss statement is reviewed.  

Better yet, what if that figurehead in a suit could actually show them how to do it! Imagine all 22 zillion employees being able to watch the boss make the biscuit. Everyone would be better, the biscuit, the employee, the boss, the customer and the balance sheet.

So many companies fail when they attempt to expand beyond their mom-and-pop-sized operation. Once they have to take their hands off the operation, and entrust it to others, things happen – typically bad things. Communication breakdown! Frustrations run rampant and sooner or later the consultants are brought in to straighten everything out. Shortly after the consultants tick off everybody, the investors and financial backers start screaming for results. Failure is on the doorstep.

In this digital age, we have the ability to change all of this. With DreamStream’s multichannel live streaming capabilities large corporations can communicate clearly, concisely, and inexpensively. No longer do people have to fly to the home office to see how procedures are done. They can see it right from their cell phones and laptops. Quality, streaming video is the solution for the visionary to connect directly with the frontline staff.   

DreamStream’s EES encryption takes this reality one step further. Our Gum.bo system adds our military-strength encryption, which is impossible to hack, into video streams, offering protection when corporate secrets need to be handled securely. Now the executive team can impart their vision directly from their mouths to the employee’s ears... and eyes.

Corporations can now communicate effectively and securely reaching across the world with their most important product; their ideas. Throw away the training manuals because DreamStream will bring you high quality video distribution at CFO-friendly costs. You can now have your own IPTV television station with as many channels as you need. And if you need it protected, we can do that too.

Lower your communication costs and exponentially improve your communications’ effectiveness with DreamStream. Turn your vision into reality for every part of your business.

Let DreamStream take the gamble out of your communication. You will now be understood. Seeing is believing. We can do it, and we can do it today.

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Once again, the Chinese and their friends have infiltrated the America’s power grid. This form of 21st century cyber warfare stands to jeopardize more lives than any conventional weapon ever could. As I have previously discussed, the gravity of these security breaches cannot be overstated.

Proper steps must be taken to ensure that our infrastructure is safe from external threats. There is no excuse for the paltry digital security measures that are currently being used to “secure” our power systems. Our governments and utility providers must act now, before it is too late. Sufficient data encryption is the first vital step toward thwarting future attacks, but, until that step is taken, we will continue to make ourselves vulnerable to those who may seek to harm us.

To read more about this story, click here (The Wall Street Journal, April 8, 2008).

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The media is currently abuzz with the news that the forthcoming blockbuster X-Men Origins: Wolverine has been leaked via the Internet. The film is reported to have been downloaded “hundreds of thousands of times” by pirates worldwide. While this will likely have little effect on the film’s box-office sales next month, it is an embarrassment for the production company, 20th Century Fox.

All of this hoopla coincides with the Brit’s Industry Trust for Intellectual Property Awareness’ launch of a brand new anti-piracy marketing campaign. Like the campaigns that have preceded it, this campaign is unlikely to motivate a significant reduction in film piracy. Generally, such campaigns serve as the kind of self-congratulatory prattle that makes the sponsors happy but does nothing to eliminate the actual problem.

Once again, while the pirates celebrate yet another victory, the industry chooses a reactive approach . Instead of seeking heightened security, the film industry has decided to launch a new PR tactic. If it seems asinine to you, it’s because it is.

The studios need to get proactive about protecting their property. They will never be able to eliminate the market for piracy, so they should focus their efforts instead on keeping their content out of the market in the first place. A huge step toward doing so would be to implement greater digital security measures. Fortunately, this is where DreamStream could come in handy.

Our state-of-the-art, military-grade encryption, EES, could greatly reduce the possibility of content getting in the wrong hands. On movie sets, the cameras could encrypt the digital files before they even reach a tape or hard drive. During the post-production phase, every file on every computer could be encrypted. When completed, the film could be live-streamed effortlessly to theaters around the world, while remaining fully encrypted. Thus, from camera to theater projector, films can remain fully encrypted and safe from the threat of digital piracy.

Piracy is optional. The pirates only have what the studios (and their paltry security measures) allow them to have. With DreamStream’s technology, digital piracy can be eradicated. The only question is: When will the industry stop wasting time and money on reactive measures and, for once, become proactive about securing their property?

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“… In this paper, as a new deterrent to camcorder piracy, we propose a system for estimating the recording position from which a camcorder recording is made. The system is based on spread-spectrum audio watermarking for the multichannel movie soundtrack. It utilizes a stochastic model of the detection strength, which is calculated in the watermark detection process. Our experimental results show that the system estimates recording positions in an actual theater with a mean estimation error of 0.44 m. The results of our MUSHRA subjective listening tests show the method does not significantly spoil the subjective acoustic quality of the soundtrack. These results indicate that the proposed system is applicable for practical uses.”

Allow me to remove the geek-speak… Essentially they have come up with way to encode theater audio so that later viewers of pirated films can identify where in the theater the pirate’s camera was located. Stop the presses! Investigators will now be able to know that the cameraman was sitting in the ninth seat from the left on the third row from the top, between the loud popcorn muncher and the amorous couple.

My question: What difference will it make? Answer: None.

The problem with this technology is the same problem faced by most anti-piracy measures; it is reactive instead of proactive. This technology can only be used after the film has already been pirated. Even then, it will only reveal where in the theater (assuming the actual theater can be identified) the pirate was sitting, which does nothing to reduce piracy or aid in the resulting litigation. As long as anti-piracy measures remain largely reactive, piracy will maintain its chokehold on the entertainment industry. This is yet another pointless technology that is destined for failure.

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The Wall Street Journal published an article on January 21, 2009, detailing an enormous security breach in one of the United State’s top financial transaction companies. The article, written by Ben Worthen, included the following:

“Heartland Payment Systems Inc. said Tuesday that cyber criminals compromised its computer network, gaining access to customer information associated with the 100 million card transactions it handles each month.

“The company said it couldn’t estimate how many customer records may have been improperly accessed, but said the data compromised include the information on a card’s magnetic strip – card number, expiration date and some internal bank codes – that could be used to duplicate a card. ...

“... [S]uch breaches can cost $300 to $600 per account in fraudulent purchases, fees and legal costs. That could put the price of this breach in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Such costs would be spread among banks and other companies in addition to Heartland.”

Yesterday, I received a letter from my local bank informing me that I was one of the many cardholders whose information had been leaked. The letter included the following statement:

“We were notified by VISA that your Debit/Check Card has been flagged as a possible suspect in the recent information breech at a National Processor. We are taking the proactive step of sending you a new Debit/Check Card. You should receive your new card [in one month].

“… Due to the magnitude of the breech nationwide the card producers are weeks behind in their ability to issue cards. …”

Needless to say, I was not happy. Aside from the hackers, it seems that the only people profiting from this breach are the card issuers. What is most frustrating about this turn of events is the simple fact that it all could have been prevented.

Modern electronic banking and digital monetary transactions are protected with only minimal security measures. Because speed is often of greater importance than security, the kingpins in the industry have resisted the use of comprehensive digital security measures. Until the advent of DreamStream, military-strength encryptions have generally been too cumbersome for use in real-time consumer transactions. As such, the only encryptions used (if any at all) typically rely on 128 or 256-bit keys, which obviously pale in comparison to DreamStream’s 2,048-bit keys.

Nevertheless, it is DreamStream’s functionality that sets it apart from the competition and makes it the perfect solution to the problems facing the financial industries. In short, DreamStream’s EES does not significantly increase the file size of the digital data and is able to be encrypted, transferred, and decrypted in real-time. Thus, use of our algorithm would provide comprehensive security to the financial industry, while enabling transactions to be carried out both instantly and efficiently.

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According to recent news reports, Apple has decided to cede ground in the war on piracy by removing their DRM technologies from the music offered via iTunes.

For Apple, such a move makes sense due to simple fact that it will increase their market-share by appealing to a wider base of consumers. For the content owners, the artists and record labels, Apple’s decision serves as the crescendo to their swan song.

As this relates to piracy, Apple’s change in policy is largely symbolic. The DRM technology used in iTunes was fairly simplistic and could easily be thwarted by even the most amateur digital pirate. A simple click of the “burn” button renders iTunes’ DRM completely useless. Nevertheless, Apple’s rejection of DRM technology indicates how retailers have tired of bearing the onus of defending against copyright infringement.

At this point, it is only a matter of time before the music industry realizes that the only feasible way for them to securely and directly monetize off their music is to embrace a subscription platform. Current technology makes this possible. DreamStream can make it secure.

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On May 31, 2008, National Journal reported that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army played a role in recent attacks on U.S. power systems. The report said, “Tim Bennett, the former president of the Cyber Security Industry Alliance, a leading trade group, said that U.S. intelligence officials have told him that the PLA in 2003 gained access to a network that controlled electric power systems serving the northeastern United States.” While the actions of the Chinese hackers may have been outrageous, they are by no means surprising.

The infrastructure of the U.S. government and its agencies are grossly unequipped to deal with the very real threats of the twenty-first century. Today, the greatest attacks waged on our nation are digital - not physical. Through digital attacks, our adversaries are able to wage war on the United States. Because the technologies currently being employed to thwart such acts is antiquated and finite, the effects can be devastating.

Unfortunately, while our government has strived to implement sufficient digital security measures, they are usually relegated exclusively to military and intelligence operations. This leaves the backbone of American society exposed. As was the case with the attacks of the PLA, vital infrastructure (i.e. utilities, communications systems, etc.) remains vulnerable.

As mentioned above, the central problem stems from the ineffective technologies that are currently being used. Digital security must be taken seriously. Real threats require effective and impenetrable security. There is no excuse for our nation’s lack of digital defense measures, which is evident in nearly all sectors. Our national infrastructure supports our very existence, which should make its security our foremost concern. http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/cs_20080531_6948.php

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With Toshiba’s announcement today, to stop the production and further development of their HD DVD format, Sony is declaring themselves to be the winner of the format war.

The question is, “winner in what contest?”

If we take a look at the Blu-ray/HD DVD market alone, yes, Sony appears to be the winner. However, if we take a look at the bigger picture, Sony doesn’t look much like a winner yet.

If you have read our last blog entry about the “Need for Speed” you will understand that increased storage capacity for silicon discs is not necessarily what consumers want, what is good for them, nor even what they need.

DVD technology is dying. Whether red or Blu-ray, it is only a matter of time until it will be buried. Most experts agree that optical formats will probably only withstand one final generation.

Interestingly, a small and new company is entering the ring for the battle of the last technological advancement in DVD laser development. New Media Entertainment (NMEN.BB) offers a better high-definition quality than does Sony’s Blu-ray. NME also has one huge advantage in that their format is based on red laser technology, which is much cheaper and has a much wider infrastructure than blue laser technology. Best of all, it is compatible with all former optical formats and can play DVDs and CDs in the same drive.

It remains a question if David (NME) will gain the muscles to compete against a Goliath (Sony), but the odds are looking promising as the first players have been shipped and some good content deals have been consummated.

The major force behind Sony’s success of their Blu-Ray format is the Playstation 3, which is still far behind the initial expected numbers sold. It is just too expensive for some consumers to get a new Blu-ray machine, and it is questionable if prices will drop significantly over the next months, as the existing infrastructure doesn’t support larger numbers of production. Furthermore, new infrastructure will require more significant investments for a dead product and I wonder if someone actually wants to make these investments if it is clear that the next years will bring a shift from offline delivery of content to online distribution.

We here at DreamStream are enthusiastic about the potential of our products as we are right now the only company that is able to deliver streaming video fully encrypted and secured. As network infrastructures support higher and higher speeds DVDs will become obsolete and DreamStream might be the winner after all. Stay tuned as history unfolds daily.

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With Comcast's announcement of a new data transfer technology that can reach a bandwidth of up to 160 Mbps, one has to question how this will affect the daily use of data.

According to the cable operator, an HD movie, which can have a size of up to 30 GB, can be transferred in less than 4 minutes. In other words, a complete music CD converted to an mp3 file can be transferred within seconds, and a DVD with “just” 2-3 GB in 30 seconds.

In this scenario any form of content can be attached to an email without any significant delay in delivery.

By 2009, Comcast would like to provide millions of households with this new bandwidth technology. Comcast's system would not require those households to change their existing infrastructure or set-top boxes.

From where we sit, it is unclear if Warner Brothers has made the decision to go with Blu-ray, an HD DVD format that was hacked in February 2007. As such, the future of Blu-ray remains uncertain.

Right now, with the download speeds of most U.S. housholds hovering somewhere around 250 kilobytes per second, it doesn’t make real sense to stream a 30 GB HD movie. Nevertheless, it makes a lot of sense with a 50 megabit connection from Verizon or a 160 megabit connection from Comcast.

With that speed, the last barrier of transferring high-quality, copyrighted motion pictures will fall. Especially, if the price of HD DVDs remain at over $20.

So far, the only true solution to completely protect any form of content from digital piracy is DreamStream's 2,048-bit cipher, which can be built in into any delivery format; DVD, cable, satellite, or any form of IP delivery.

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Through our own research, we estimate that the damage done to private households and businesses amounts to over $400 billion per year due to poor, or non-existing, digital security. This includs credit card fraud, identify theft, software and movie piracy, corporate espionage through network break-ins, and more.

The major reasons why systems are hacked are twofold.

First, the acquisition of a network password is easy. Sometimes a phone call is enough to gain access to vital information. A hacker, disguised as the service man from the target company’s IT department, calls a person with access to the network and requests his access code so that he can fix the ongoing issues that the gullible employee has experienced.

You think that this is unrealistic? Up to a third of all employees would give out their password to Mr. Nice Guy from the IT department when asked. This has been tested and confirmed by a major medical corporation (who desires to rename nameless). Imagine what would happen if a little cash was offered for such information to one or more of your employees?

While you could counter this threat with an awareness campaign concerning password security, you may not want to let your staff know that you are that vulnerable. DreamStream suggests the installation of our security solution behind your firewall. True security will give you the ability to focus on your business rather than wasting your time on those who will inevitably try to steal your business. 

The second reason why security breaches take place is that the technology or encryption algorithm is published and readily available for hackers to exploit. Once you have an inside look how the technology works, it is just a question of time until a smart mathematician figures out how to break the code. Once the code is broken, it doesn’t take much to break the security installations that rely on that particular code.

CBS’s 60 Minutes explains how the WEP standard was broken a long time ago and that this protection is actually no protection at all. The methods it takes to hack into WEP are “common knowledge” among subversive elements.

DreamStream has an unpublished encryption algorithm. Our security setup ensures that not even our developers are able to gain access to the complete solution. Once DreamStream develops your customized solution it becomes your own digital fortress.

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