While Dragons Might Not Stand Guard, HBO Is Serious About Data Security

With the mountainous success of Game of Thrones, the BBC-produced show has always been understandably concerned with their security. However, with the show officially overtaking the original source material, A Song of Ice and Fire, there is an increased presence of curious fans and members of the press with an eye out for a sneak peek at the action. This has led to more; somewhat more modern measures being adopted to keep the production’s secrets safe.

This is by no means the first time HBO has moved to increase the show’s security. During last year’s season, fewer of the actors were given scripts and code words for certain characters and scenes were developed, just in case. HBO also put a stop to distributing screeners, or advance copies of the program, to members of the press to view so they can write their reviews.

Now that the show has overtaken the books, the importance of secrecy and security has increased even more.

This year, the cast was required to enable and set up two-factor authentication on their email accounts, where they exclusively received digital copies of the script that they were not allowed to print out. This is according to Nathalie Emmanuel, who plays the character Missandei on the show. Emmanuel added that even any rehearsal notes the cast members received were restricted to the set, signed for and returned before the actors were permitted to leave.

For good reason, too. The series is a cultural juggernaut, and has generated its showrunners a vast amount of money. It is--in all senses of the word--a business, and if it was to lose its critical data or trade secrets (like who’s next to be violently eliminated from the Game of Thrones), their audience would have less of an incentive to tune in, and viewers would swiftly shift their support to a different project.

In this way, it is just as important that you ensure that your business’ data is secured as well. Otherwise, the same scenario would likely happen, your ‘audience’ replaced by your customers and clients.

Two-Factor Authentication requires a user to not only know their password to log into their email or online accounts, but also have their mobile device on hand to type in a texted code. Even if someone were to guess the password, it would still require the mobile device to log in. Many businesses are adopting this to comply with various regulations, but it’s also quickly becoming a best practice for security.

Are you excited about this season of Game of Thrones? Let us know in the comments what you think--but no spoilers, please!