Content Protection: Addressing Authenticity, Trusted Workflows and Security Best Practices
May 28, 2026
SMPTE Hollywood put current security threats and trends under the microscope during an lively April 30 Section meeting hosted by The Switch @ Victory. The program, titled “Content Protection: Addressing Authenticity, Trusted Workflows and Security Best Practices,” included a look at the nonprofit Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA), new SMPTE standard Open-Source Control Protocol (Catena), and the Motion Picture Association’s content security arm, Trusted Partner Network (TPN).
Marc Zorn, SMPTE Governor for the Hollywood Region and moderator, kicked of the session, discussing the changing nature of security, including implications of generative AI’s evolution, including its ability to create AI-characters. “It’s changing the game,” he said, noting it’s “much harder to discern what’s authentic” and emphasizing the need for tools for protection of likenesses and digital content.
Next, EZDRM’s Olga Kornienko provided an overview of C2PA—founded by Adobe, Microsoft and Google—and its open system for putting a sort of “digital signature” on count to certify it as authentic and confirming that it wasn’t tapered with. She urged vendors to support this system in their technology.
Ross Video’s Chris Lennon presented one of SMPTE’s newest standards, ST 2138, a suite of standards informally known as Catena that aims to define a unified, open, secure, and vendor-agnostic control plane for workflows. Lennon reported that Catena is open-source software that is “AI-ready” and mulitligual. A plugfest is in the plans (and more information about 2138 can be found on the SMPTE web site).
TPN president Terri Davies introduced TPN’s newly-released Security Trends Analysis Report, an industry study to analyze large-scale security assessment data and track how cyber risks are evolving across the global content supply chain.
The findings suggest that while most organizations have foundational policies in place, inconsistent day-to-day execution of technical controls is creating systemic and exploitable risk. “This is existential, in my opinion,” Davies said.
Hollywood SMPTE Section chair Juan Reyes welcomed the estimated 60 attendees to the event, which began with a reception. SMPTE Hollywood thanks event sponsor, The Switch, and registration sponsor, Duplitech.
