British TV giant Channel 4 has entered into a deal with Invicti Security to gain complete visibility into its web assets.
In line with regulations such as the EU Update to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Channel 4 needs to secure vast amounts of information, including the data of 24m All 4 subscribers, as well as staff details, intellectual property and be able to demonstrate its data is safe and secure.
As a large organisation with thousands of web assets, security was previously a complex and expensive task, involving numerous penetration tests with multiple third parties, costing significant sums to the business.
So it has engaged Invicti Security to assist in that process.
Channel 4 CISO Brian Brackenborough said: “We would perform a penetration test and after getting the results, we’d have to fix the issue and then pay for another penetration test. That could be quite a cycle depending on how complicated the particular project was.”
Channel 4 now uses Invicti to gain visibility into whether websites are collecting personally identifiable information (PII). It can then perform vulnerability scans and penetration tests on those websites.
The efficiency gains and cost savings are partnering with Invicti saved Channel 4 thousands in the first year alone.
“The budget, which we were spending every year on penetration testing, decreased approximately 60%. The following year, it decreased close to 80%,” Brackenborough said.
Using Invicti, Channel 4 can now start performing automated and continuous penetration tests or vulnerability scans against systems at certain milestones of a project to make sure it stays on track. It allows Channel 4 to catch any issues early on in the process, prioritising vulnerabilities that put the organisation at risk so it can fix them with less manual effort. “That makes our lives a lot easier and allows us to ensure we are delivering projects on budget and on time,” Brackenborough said.
Channel 4 is free-to-air and freely available to all of the UK. It operates the UK’s biggest free streaming service, All 4, plus a network of 12 television channels.
Its unique model – commercially-funded but publicly-owned – means it is able to offer independent and distinctive, universal content reflecting the interests of different communities across the UK.
Headquartered in London in the UK, Channel 4 began its transmission on 2 November 1982.
Today, Channel 4 is the youngest-skewing public service channel in the UK – and it reaches more 16-34-year-olds than any other commercial broadcaster across streaming and TV. https://www.invicti.com/about/#