According to Unit 42 research, organizations in the media and entertainment sector add more than 7,000 new services to their digital footprint every month, creating constant exposure to cyberattacks as adversaries scan the entire IPv4 space in minutes to exploit weaknesses.
At the same time, a single Hollywood feature can generate more than 500 terabytes of footage, effects, and audio assets that must be exchanged securely across continents under strict release deadlines. Studios also manage sensitive contractual data and PII (personally identifiable information) for thousands of cast and crew members, making control over both intellectual property and personal data an ongoing challenge.
Protecting Films and PII
For this U.S. film studio, legacy file transfer methods were no longer adequate. Manual SFTP transfers, couriered drives, and unmanaged cloud-sharing platforms lacked the end-to-end encryption, auditability, and multilayer threat prevention necessary to prevent leaks or to comply with frameworks like MPAA, TPN, GDPR, and CCPA, as well as safeguard PII (personally identifiable information) belonging to cast and crew.
As WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) notes, copyright and contracts underpin every stage of filmmaking. Without secure handling of documents, delays in financing or licensing can quickly follow and disrupt release schedules, making it essential to protect both creative works and legal agreements.
In the wake of the Sony Pictures breach and a growing awareness that attackers can exploit even minor vulnerabilities, the studio’s leadership recognized that continuing with fragmented, outdated systems posed unacceptable financial, operational, and reputational risks.
And new incidents continue to prove the risk is not confined to the past. In July 2025, media conglomerate Albavisión was claimed as a victim of the GLOBAL GROUP ransomware gang, which said it had stolen 400 GB of company data. The group uses AI-driven negotiation chatbots to pressure non-English-speaking victims, showing how quickly extortion tactics are evolving.
For this film studio, the Albavisión case reinforced that attackers continue to single out media companies for both intellectual property theft and leverage over sensitive personal data.
Centralizing File Transfers
After conducting an internal security audit, the studio selected OPSWAT MetaDefender Managed File Transfer™ (MFT) with integrated MetaDefender Core™ as the foundation for secure collaboration across its global production pipeline. The decision was driven by the need for a platform that could enforce strict security controls without slowing down creative processes.
With MetaDefender MFT, the studio implemented:
- Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Project-level permissions ensured that only authorized individuals of internal teams and external partners could access specific assets. Even administrators were restricted from viewing file contents to reinforce zero-trust principles.
- End-to-End Encryption and Integrity Checks: All media files and contracts were encrypted with TLS 1.3 and AES-256 during transfer and at rest. Checksum validation verified that files remained intact and tamper-free.
- Metascan™ Multiscanning: Every incoming and outgoing file was scanned with multiple antivirus engines, increasing detection rates and reducing reliance on any single vendor’s signatures.
- Sandbox Analysis: OPSWAT's managed file transfer solution is currently the only MFT on the market that is zero-day ready. Embedded with Adaptive Sandbox and Threat Intelligence, it blocks evasive malware, protects sensitive data flows, and generates compliance-ready reporting to satisfy industry standards.
- Comprehensive Audit Trails: Every transfer was logged, providing visibility for compliance with MPAA, TPN, GDPR, and CCPA requirements and enabling rapid forensic investigations if needed.
By embedding multi-layered security into automated workflows, the studio replaced ad hoc file transfer tools with a centralized, policy-driven approach. The studio also enabled additional safeguards that closed critical gaps often exploited in media industry breaches:
- Supervisor Approvals: High-value transfers, such as final cuts and promotional materials, required explicit sign-off before release, reducing the risk of accidental leaks or unauthorized sharing.
- Outbreak Prevention: Suspicious files were automatically blocked before they could spread across systems, ensuring proactive containment of potential threats.
This approach reflected a core security principle: treating every file as a potential attack vector until proven safe. It also echoed broader industry findings, such as IBM’s 2025 X-Force report noting that 70 percent of cyberattacks targeted business-critical infrastructures last year, with credential theft behind nearly one-third of incidents. For the studio, these realities confirmed that building resilience into file transfer pipelines was not optional but essential.
Modernizing Media Pipelines
Once MetaDefender MFT was deployed, the impact went beyond security reinforcement. MetaDefender MFT delivered more than stronger security; it reshaped how the studio managed its production pipelines. By centralizing file transfers and embedding multi-layered defenses, the studio replaced unmonitored SFTPs and unmanaged transfer practices with secure, policy-based workflows.
Key Results
- Centralized control of all file transfers across departments
- Encrypted, audited exchanges that eliminated reliance on unmanaged sharing tools
- Secure collaboration with international post-production partners
- Reduced time spent on manual file security checks and transfers
- Real-time visibility into file flows, user behavior, and security posture
Production teams noted that automated workflows for ingesting raw footage, distributing post-production assets, and delivering final releases to streaming platforms not only secured sensitive content but also saved valuable time. What began as a compliance-driven initiative evolved into a streamlined, resilient system that supported creativity while reducing operational overhead.
Future-Proofing Film Production Against Cyberthreats
Cyberattacks are accelerating as ransomware gangs and data extortion groups refine their tactics. To stay ahead, the studio positioned itself to adapt to these pressures. Cyberthreats in the media industry continue to evolve, with attackers exploiting exposed services, stolen credentials, and malicious uploads to gain access to production environments. Industry reports show that unsecured file-sharing practices still account for a measurable share of exposures, underscoring the risks of unmanaged data flows.
With MetaDefender MFT, the studio positioned itself to adapt to these pressures. The platform’s API and SMB protocol integrations with media asset management systems such as Avid and Adobe allow secure ingestion and export without disrupting editorial work. Automated workflows with supervisor approvals ensure that trailers, promotional clips, and final episodes reach external partners securely, reducing both shadow IT reliance and exposure risk.
Understanding how files move between MFT instances and cross-network protocols is also essential for both operational efficiency and cybersecurity oversight. To address this, MetaDefender MFT includes a Visual Orchestration Editor that provides a graphical overview of all MFT-to-MFT, SFTP, SMB, and SharePoint Online file transfers and automated workflows. This visual interface makes it easy for administrators to see:
- Connection status
- Directionality of transfers
- Applied policies and triggers
With this level of visibility, the studio can monitor critical file flows in real time, validate that policies are enforced, and quickly investigate anomalies without slowing production down.
Beyond creative assets, the studio also prioritized protecting rights documentation, contracts, and distribution agreements, the backbone of filmmaking, as emphasized by WIPO. These files not only determine ownership and financing but also enable licensing opportunities such as merchandising and international releases. Safeguarding them ensures both compliance and long-term revenue security.
Looking ahead, the studio views secure file transfer not only as a compliance requirement but as a competitive advantage. Maintaining trust with talent, partners, and audiences ensures that intellectual property and personal data are protected throughout the production lifecycle, even as attack surfaces continue to expand.
Why Secure File Transfer is now Foundational for Entertainment
The Sony Pictures breach marked a turning point for the media industry, proving that “trust but verify” was no longer enough. For this U.S. film studio, OPSWAT MetaDefender MFT became the backbone of secure media collaboration in protecting creative assets, contractual data, and personal information while modernizing the entire production supply chain.
Whether faced with regulatory pressure, tight release schedules, or increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks, the studio demonstrated that secure file transfer is no longer optional. It is foundational to both creative and operational success.
Secure every scene, every script, every file with MetaDefender Managed File Transfer™.
