Skip to main content

Deep Dive | TPN

· 3 min read
Cameron Target
Cameron Target
Pipeline Manager

TLDR: it's some security stuff. Mainly a way for big studios to keep their IP safe - for Baked, it could open the doors to more clients.

What is TPN?​

TPN (Trusted Partner Network) is wholly owned by the Motion Picture Association, essentially, they're committed to building and supporting a strong community network for keeping content safe. Mainly for the big six studios with big IP to safeguard.

The MPA Content Security Best Practices, maintained by the TPN, establish a single benchmark of minimum security preparedness. TPN Assessments measure a Service Provider’s current security posture for site and application against the MPA Best Practices. Basically, among other things, it's a central assessment place so we don't have to worry about doing multiple assessments for each studio.

The TPN+ registry of global “Trusted Partners” provides a centralized source of truth for Content Owners to view and search for Service Providers by service type and TPN Blue or Gold Shield security status from which to make risk-based decisions effectively and independently. This is important, being on this roster is a big achievement and shows potential clients we're up to stuff on our security.

Essentially, TPN is a network, app and assessment that we pay dues for to be on their roster. The roster shows our security status, TPN assessed or not. So the idea is you get an assessment and put our best foot forward so when someone comes looking for us, since they can see all our security measures, it benefits us to be the best prepared and well-set up we can be.

Where are we at?​

Overall, we have a really robust and safe network at Baked Studios. We're currently in the process of completing a baseline evaluation, which will help. I'll update this article here with relevant and non-confidential information when we're done.

Where do we need to be?​

Here are a few next steps once we baseline. Remember TPN is not mandatory, we'd already be paying for our spot on the roster, it's more like a gold star that shows studios we play nice with their data - essentially bolstering the ROI for being on the roster in the first place.

  1. Learn more about TPN Best Practices: The MPA has created content security best practices that we'd need to familiarize ourselves with and implement.

  2. Choose a Qualified TPN Assessor: Only qualified TPN Assessors can perform TPN assessments. These assessors have undergone training and testing to ensure they can effectively evaluate facilities and processes against industry security standards.

  3. Do the Assessment: This would be an in-depth look at our security infrastructure, both digital and physical, to ensure that it meets the standards set by the TPN.

  4. Address Identified Issues: If the TPN Assessor identifies any vulnerabilities or issues, we'll need to address these. We have a window to address and they'll update our status on the TPN+ network.

  5. Annual Reassessment: TPN assessments are good for one year, after which they need to be renewed.

And that's it! It's kinda like the CARFAX of the the movie industry for big IP players. We just need to keep our "Car" up to date with it's latest inspections and security equivalents of oil changes...