Behind the Scenes of Security: How TPN Keeps Hollywood’s Content Safe and Sound

The Speed of Storytelling Meets the Need for Security
In the entertainment industry, great stories move faster than ever, bouncing from studio sets to cloud servers to global audiences in record time. But for all that creative momentum, there’s a lurking antagonist: content thieves. From piracy to leaks to ransomware, a single breach can spoil a story before it’s told.

That’s where the Trusted Partner Network (TPN) steps in—the entertainment world’s trusted guardian of content security—and leading the charge is Terri Davies.
As President of TPN since 2022, Terri Davies brings deep expertise in media operations and digital supply chains. With leadership roles at Sony Pictures, Deluxe, and Anuvu, she’s no stranger to complex workflows where creativity meets technology.

Her mission at TPN is clear: make world-class security achievable and transparent for every player in the content supply chain, whether a major studio or an indie post house. Under her leadership, TPN has expanded its reach to include cloud and/or hybrid workflows, remote collaboration, and scalable security standards fit for the digital age.

What Is Content Security, Really?
Think of content security as the invisible armor that protects creativity at every stage – from the spark of an idea to the final frame on your screen. It’s a full-lifecycle discipline designed to safeguard scripts, footage, visual effects, marketing materials, and digital masters from leaks, tampering, or unauthorized access.

That means securing:

• Idea creation: Guarding early concepts, scripts, and pitch decks from premature exposure.
• Production & post-production: Securing footage, edits, and VFX as they move across vendors, freelancers, and cloud platforms.
• Distribution: Locking down files with encryption, watermarking, and digital rights management (DRM).
• End-user consumption: Ensuring audiences experience authentic, unaltered content that respects creator rights.

In short, content security is about protecting the entire creative supply chain—safeguarding every asset, workflow, and collaborator from idea to audience.
The Trusted Partner Network: Hollywood’s Security Blueprint
The Trusted Partner Network is a global initiative owned by the Motion Picture Association (MPA). Its mission: to create a unified framework for how the entertainment industry protects content across the entire supply chain.

TPN’s strength lies in three core pillars:

• Standardization: The MPA Content Security Best Practices (CSBP) set a universal benchmark for securing creative assets at every stage.
• Assessment: A rigorous evaluation process helps service and application providers validate their security preparedness. Think of it as a bi-annual “security health check.”
• Transparency: Through the TPN+ platform, studios can instantly verify a vendor’s security status, cutting down on redundant audits and accelerating collaboration.

Together, these components build a foundation of trust—ensuring that creative partners anywhere in the world adhere to consistent, verifiable security standards. The result? A shared language of trust that makes global partnerships faster, safer, and smarter.

Why TPN Matters Now More Than Ever
Before TPN, studios had to conduct their own security checks for every provider – from post houses to dubbing studios, whether on-premise, in the cloud, or outsourced – creating duplication, confusion, and inconsistent results. TPN replaced that fragmented process with a unified system that saves time, reduces costs, and raises the bar for everyone.

The benefits are huge:

• Efficiency: Less duplication, more productivity.
• Integrity: Improved security preparedness and consistent protection across the supply chain.
• Equality: Smaller vendors that meet TPN’s standards can compete on equal footing with major studios.

In an era where a single data leak can derail an entire release, TPN provides the structure that keeps creativity safe from chaos.

Inside the MPA Best Practices: Security in Action

TPN maintains Content Security Best Practices, which span four key domains—each reinforcing the next:

• Organizational: Clear governance, security policies, and staff training so every team member knows their role in protecting content.
• Operational: Procedures for change management, incident response, and secure remote workflows—because even in emergencies, the show must go on.
• Physical: Controlled facility access, fire and power safeguards, and surveillance to prevent unauthorized entry or damage.
• Technical: Encryption, multi-factor authentication, secure cloud configurations, and continuous vulnerability management.

These measures aren’t static—they evolve with the industry. Under Terri Davies’s leadership, TPN has incorporated modern workflows like remote collaboration and cloud-based production, reflecting how real-world content creation happens today.

As Davies often notes, “security and creativity are not at odds—they’re partners.” When content creators and vendors operate within a trusted network, innovation can flourish without fear of compromise. By uniting studios, vendors, and technology providers under one trusted standard, TPN isn’t just protecting assets—it’s safeguarding the future of storytelling itself.
From the first spark of an idea to the moment it hits your screen, the Trusted Partner Network provides a framework to help providers at all stages in the media supply chain understand and strengthen their security preparedness.

Thanks to Terri Davies’s vision, the amazing TPN team and the global TPN community, the entertainment industry now has what every great story needs: a strong, transparent backbone of trust.

Watch the full interview with Polly Hickling from Women in Streaming Media here: