The broadcast industry is navigating a complex cybersecurity landscape, balancing traditional operations with the demands of streaming and cloud infrastructure. This shift requires innovative security strategies to protect both content and infrastructure. According to Akamai’s advisory CISO Steve Winterfeld, media companies experience fewer distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks than other sectors. This is partly because disrupting on-demand content generates less media attention. “If you impact my ability to watch Netflix, that’s not going to make headlines,” Winterfeld noted. However, live events remain a prime target due to their time-sensitive nature.
Account fraud is a persistent problem, with criminal organizations targeting streaming service credentials for resale. The rise of "crime as a service" lowers the barrier to entry for attackers. Winterfeld explains, “I may be an initial access broker… I want to break in and sell that access to somebody else, have them come in and execute the ransomware, have them steal the accounts, steal the credit card information, whatever their business model is.”
The accessibility of attack tools has fueled a rise in hacktivism, particularly for local news organizations covering controversial topics. “Back in the day, you had to have skills to do this,” Winterfeld said. “Now you can rent those capabilities to do it, including ransomware.” This means smaller organizations are vulnerable to individuals or groups reacting negatively to their coverage. “If that local broadcast does a feature that is critical to part of the community and somebody in that community takes umbrage, then all of a sudden that hacktivism that somebody could rent a capability and attack them is where the world has changed,” Winterfeld said.
The migration to cloud infrastructure presents both opportunities and risks. A strong security culture is essential for a safe transition. “If you have a security culture, then moving to the cloud, you’re probably going to do it securely,” Winterfeld said. “If your goal is to move to the cloud to lower cost and you don’t do it securely, then you will increase your risk… And [if you’re moving to the cloud] without the leadership being aware, you’re accepting greater risk.” Smaller broadcasters face unique challenges, often lacking the resources and expertise for robust cloud security.
The use of generative AI adds another layer of complexity. Protecting proprietary algorithms and preventing model theft are critical concerns. “If somebody steals the model itself, that’s proprietary information, and that’s incredibly valuable,” Winterfeld said. “As we think about the next generation of where our value is, those are the things we’ve got to think through.” While deepfakes pose a threat, Winterfeld suggests the impact on broadcasters is less direct than on those depicted in the manipulated content. “If you’re a tier one broadcaster, a deepfake is not a problem to your business model. It’s a problem to a politician, a government or an organization that’s being deep faked,” he said.
In 2025, the broadcast industry faces escalating challenges, including content theft, fraud, and the unpredictable threat of hacktivism. “We continue to see fraud, scraping content, stealing accounts, piracy… all of that, we continue to see escalating,” Winterfeld said. The democratization of attack tools makes constant vigilance essential for all broadcasters, regardless of size.