First made-in-Vietnam DRM solution meets international security standards

With this, Thu Do Multimedia JSC is the first technology company in Southeast Asia to have a solution to protect digital content copyright certified by international standards.

In 2019, Thu Do Multimedia announced the successful research and development of digital content copyright protection solutions by combining DRM (Digital Right Management) and Finger Print Online (solution for detecting re-streaming video sources). This is a solution to protect digital content copyright on the internet environment developed by Vietnamese engineers.

Thu Do Multimedia is a Vietnamese company that has successfully developed DRM solutions and solutions to detect infringements of re-streaming video content on the internet environment.

In December 2019, the digital copyright protection solution (commercially known as Sigma DRM) was also tested and audited by Cartesian to meet international security standards. Thu Do Multimedia is the first company in Vietnam and Southeast Asia and one of six Asian companies to achieve this certification. Cartesian has now certified DRM solutions for all 20 DRM Companies worldwide.

Thu Do Multimedia not only named Vietnam as one of the Top 20 global businesses in developing DRM solutions but also creates opportunities for Vietnamese content owners to apply this domestic solution to curtail the rampant digital content piracy plaguing them.

Talking about the reason why Thu Do Multimedia decided to invest in the research and development of this DRM + Finger Print Online project, CEO Nguyen Ngoc Han said, “In the past two years, Thu Do Multimedia has been the only company that has fully developed OTT television solutions in Vietnam. We realise that copyright protection for digital content (including protection of television content, videos, music, and e-books among others) is of paramount importance.

“Moreover, almost all content owners in the world refuse to co-operate with Vietnamese content providers as they believe they cannot protect their content. The most recent case was the European Cup which was not allowed to be boradcast in Vietnam in 2017 due to the lack of copyright security."

In order to develop an encryption solution, in addition to requiring software security experience, a deep understanding of the terminals is also a mandatory condition because the entire decrypting process takes place at the hardware side. Moreover, the number of devices in this field ranges from mobile devices to large screens in homes or in cinemas. For that reason, only large companies in the world, such as Apple, Microsoft, and IBM, participated in DRM solution development. In the television DRM segment, there are only about 10 global companies currently developing and providing this solution, such as Nagravision, Conax, and Viacess.

Thu Do Multimedia's passing the accreditation of Cartesian brought the Sigma DRM into the list of 20 DRM solutions meeting global security standards. This is an important achievement for Thu Do Multimedia, as a proof of its capabilities in the field of security development in Vietnam, and opens up opportunities for Sigma DRM solutions to reach out and provide services to television companies and digital content providers in Vietnam and overseas.

The successful development and owning of DRM technology by a Vietnamese company is an important achievement with the rampant copyright infringements in Vietnam. To combat this, besides integrating content protection solutions (DRM), the applying of Finger Print Online solution to detect pirated video sources and prevent content from being recorded with screen recording devices are shaping up as essential tools.

"In terms of security capabilities, Sigma DRM solution is equivalent to solutions being offered globally," said Nguyen Ngoc Han.

The successful development of a DRM solution by a local company will benefit digital content owners and providers in Vietnam. To protect copyright, most Vietnamese content providers are now applying foreign DRM security solutions that come at a high cost.

With the success of Sigma DRM solution, Thu Do Multimedia is confident in bringing international-standard solutions to Vietnam. In addition, having a local server dispels the connectivity issues in getting a security key from overseas servers. Additionally, co-ordinating with a local company would offer advantages in negotiations, support, and upgrades.

From July 2019, the combination of Sigma DRM and Finger Print Online has been applied for VTVcab ON – the OTT TV service of Vietnam cable television corporation (VTVcab).

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