Best way to host data you don't want copied?

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DravidDavid

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#180699 18-Sep-2015 11:34

I've recently come across a dilemma which involves being able to allow people to watch content but make it as hard as humanly possible for them to copy the information.

It's a video presentation that is going to be shown to several people. We aren't concerned about these people stealing the content, but we want to take precautions.

The plan so far.

- Implement undetectable digital (audio and video) watermarks in the content in order to identify the person that leaked said content if the situation arises in the future.
- Find a way to host the information on the internet making it as difficult as humanly possible to download the content.

Obviously, I know it's quite easy to rip content out of a website, including video. However, I know there are methods which make the process a lot more difficult to achieve.

The head of the project wants to use a CD or flash drive to give to these people complimenting a written presentation. But I raised the issue of copying the content. I can't exactly write and read protect the drive because watching the content on a computer is fundamentally copying it, even if only to temporary memory.

All the solutions I come up with end up seeming like a false sense of security. Ideally we wouldn't give them the content at all. But we think it's important that they have it. While we trust them, I personally know how the likes of a pen drive can get around town which is why hosting it on the internet with a dedicated link is probably a better idea. But the internet makes sharing the content easier again.

Does anyone know something that I don't or haven't considered?

Cheers!

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#1389650 18-Sep-2015 12:11

No idea but you want a hosting service like this or similar: https://www.vdocipher.com/

graemeh

2078 posts

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#1389656 18-Sep-2015 12:29

This is not a hosted solution but at work we have something the support people call "Removable Media Encryption".

When you first use a USB device it is formatted and any data you store there is encrypted. When you take the device home you can access the data on it, you can even update it, provided you store it back to the device. Somehow when you remove the device from your PC any local copies are erased.

This stops data going outside the organisation but still allows you to work with it on unsecure equipment.

If this sounds like it would work let me know and I'll find out how we do it.

roobarb

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#1389659 18-Sep-2015 12:35

DravidDavid: We aren't concerned about these people stealing the content, but we want to take precautions..... Find a way to host the information on the internet making it as difficult as humanly possible to download the content.

If you aren't concerned about people stealing the content then why are you going to great efforts to prevent what you aren't worried about?

If this is for sales, and you are making life hard as humanly possible, then you will end up with no sales.

DravidDavid

1907 posts

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#1389670 18-Sep-2015 12:58

gzt: No idea but you want a hosting service like this or similar: https://www.vdocipher.com/

Awesome! This looks like a proper solution to my hosting problem! If we ever need to host the presentation online, this may be useful!

roobarb:
DravidDavid: We aren't concerned about these people stealing the content, but we want to take precautions..... Find a way to host the information on the internet making it as difficult as humanly possible to download the content.

If you aren't concerned about people stealing the content then why are you going to great efforts to prevent what you aren't worried about?

If this is for sales, and you are making life hard as humanly possible, then you will end up with no sales.

Good question.

I probably should have expanded a little bit on this. The security of the content could be considered part of the presentation itself which has a lot to do with security, although not directly related. It's hard to explain, but we want these people to know we take security of our intellectual property seriously, even though we know the risk of theft is low. We feel as if efforts taken to protect our content in this way will convey that message.

Also, I'd like to know how to do it in the future. It may well end up being shown to other people that we don't know so intimately. You can never be too careful. :)

graemeh: This is not a hosted solution but at work we have something the support people call "Removable Media Encryption".

When you first use a USB device it is formatted and any data you store there is encrypted. When you take the device home you can access the data on it, you can even update it, provided you store it back to the device. Somehow when you remove the device from your PC any local copies are erased.

This stops data going outside the organisation but still allows you to work with it on unsecure equipment.

If this sounds like it would work let me know and I'll find out how we do it.

That sounds like it's exactly what I want. Subtle and effective. If you could work out what they're doing to pull that off, that would be awesome! In the meantime, I will research Removal Media Encryption.

graemeh

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#1389684 18-Sep-2015 13:40

Here is the technology we use:
https://support.symantec.com/en_US/article.DOC5558.html

http://www.symantec.com/connect/forums/symantec-endpoint-encryption-how-encryption-removable-media-works

nathan

5695 posts

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#1389687 18-Sep-2015 13:45

how will you stop someone holding a smartphone camera in front of their screen and performing an analogue attack of your content?

DravidDavid

1907 posts

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#1389715 18-Sep-2015 14:26

nathan: how will you stop someone holding a smartphone camera in front of their screen and performing an analogue attack of your content?

I'm assuming you are referring to someone recording their screen with their smartphone. Well, technically we can't stop anyone from doing that. But subtle changes in the final output of each video will be built in and cataloged for future reference. So if we find a copy of our content has found it's way outside of the circle of people we have authorized to watch it, we will be able to identify the person responsible for leaking the presentation.

I'm also looking in to dot patterns that are undetectable when watching, but I've got the feeling it won't work the same way for me as it does for Hollywood tracking recorded movies from theaters, so it's low on my priorities list.

graemeh: Here is the technology we use:
https://support.symantec.com/en_US/article.DOC5558.html

http://www.symantec.com/connect/forums/symantec-endpoint-encryption-how-encryption-removable-media-works

Thank you! I will be looking in to this immediately. So far it appears to be the best solution!

I am fully aware that anyone with an ounce of technical ability would likely be able to circumvent any safeguard put in place to prevent data being shared. But the people in charge of the project feel that it's important to try. I have and am going to continue to make it very, very clear to them that these "protections" are practically cosmetic in the eyes of anyone who knows what they are doing. The best course of action would of course be supervised viewing, which it will be to start with.

I'm exploring these options for my own knowledge more than anything.

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Rikkitic

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#1389743 18-Sep-2015 15:02

Anything that can be viewed can be copied, and it doesn't have to be an inferior kinescope copy either. Modern HDMI recorders like Hauppauge PVR produce high quality digital screen recordings. Yes, the source of the leak can probably be traced but preventing recording (or even making it difficult) is probably not possible.

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DravidDavid

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#1389755 18-Sep-2015 15:12

Rikkitic: Anything that can be viewed can be copied, and it doesn't have to be an inferior kinescope copy either. Modern HDMI recorders like Hauppauge PVR produce high quality digital screen recordings. Yes, the source of the leak can probably be traced but preventing recording (or even making it difficult) is probably not possible.

Indeed. I guess a summary of my thoughts on the issue would be "It's the thought that counts." Haha. It's unlikely the people we are talking about will have the screen recording ability you are talking about as a basic computer user. So I'm willing to take my chances on that one.

I understand where you're coming from and I've made the organizers of this project acutely aware to these details. The general consensus always seems to be "something is better than nothing".

gehenna

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#1389762 18-Sep-2015 15:20

DravidDavid: It's unlikely the people we are talking about will have the screen recording ability you are talking about as a basic computer user. So I'm willing to take my chances on that one.

That sort of technology is not for advanced users anymore. Quicktime has screen recording built in. There's numerous apps available to record what's happening on your screen while it's happening. Even some remote admin tools have screen capturing built in now.

Then there's screen sharing in Skype/Lync/ and other UC clients. What's to stop the users setting up a web meeting and sharing the content over the meeting. Technically they haven't copied or recorded it, but they've still disseminated it beyond their agreed scope and there's no way to prove that it has happened, yet there could be any number of viewers on the other end (and they themselves may even be recording their own screen).

Can of worms this one.

roobarb

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#1389792 18-Sep-2015 16:19

If the audience is a select group then a Non-Disclosure Agreement may be simplest.

Don't try and fool them with 'Security Theatre' that doesn't stand up to scrutiny if you are trying to impress them about security.

DravidDavid

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#1389803 18-Sep-2015 16:26

roobarb: If the audience is a select group then a Non-Disclosure Agreement may be simplest.

Don't try and fool them with 'Security Theatre' that doesn't stand up to scrutiny if you are trying to impress them about security.

NDAs are standard procedure of course. And I'm beginning to think you're right.

gzt

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#1389823 18-Sep-2015 17:22

So a cheap tablet to play the mission impossible theme and self destruct after viewing is out of the question?

DravidDavid

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#1389824 18-Sep-2015 17:24

gzt: So a cheap tablet to play the mission impossible theme and self destruct after viewing is out of the question?

If only I could buy a tablet and install software that deliberately made it catch on fire existed! Do Sony make tablets? Perhaps I could buy some that are almost out of warranty. :P

Lias

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#1390132 19-Sep-2015 10:35

"Information wants to be free"

Thankfully we have the Snowdens and Assange's of the world to make sure whatever people like you are trying to hide, is widely available.

Care to let us know what sort of information it is you're trying to hide so I can make a special effort to seed a copy? :-P

I'm a geek, a gamer, a dad, a Quic user, and an IT Professional. I have a full rack home lab, size 15 feet, an epic beard and Asperger's. I'm a bit of a Cypherpunk, who believes information wants to be free and the Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it. If you use my Quic signup you can also use the code R570394EKGIZ8 for free setup.

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