What is Private Video Sharing and its Importance

Allow us to make a wild guess here – videos are driving your business, and that’s why you landed on this blog post. Please tell us that we are right. Whether in the form of video marketing, user-generated content (UGC), corporate communications videos, public relations and investor relations videos, training and learning videos, etc., video content contributes to the success of your business in one way or another.

You see, some of these videos are meant to be public – like marketing videos and UGC videos. However, internal company communications videos, investor relations videos, and organizational training videos are only meant to be seen by a few eyes. This is why private video sharing is essential for organizations like yours.

Not to scare you – but your enterprise videos are at the risk of getting exposed. After all, recent times are replete with examples of organizations accidentally exposing their confidential and commercial video, meant for authorized access, to the entire world.

You have got to trust us. We’re not making this up. According to Varonis, around 70% of sensitive data contained within organizations is considered stale. This data comprises proprietary business information, including, of course, video content. Not so surprisingly, this data is found within folders that are again unprotected and can be easily accessed by virtually anyone without any authorization.

This means that finding a secure way to send videos has become more important than ever for organizations. By the way, if you’re interested in knowing secure ways to share video files, refer to our blog post on Secure Video Sharing: 10 Ways to Share Videos Securely Online.

In this blog, we will discuss private video sharing, recall past incidents of reputed organizations failing to share confidential videos privately and accidentally exposing them. Followed by this, we will discuss the kinds of enterprise videos that need to be shared privately and touch upon the importance of private video sharing towards the end of the blog.

What is Private Video Sharing?

Private video sharing refers to the distribution of video content with certain restrictions in place. These restrictions ensure that the video content remains secure and can be accessed only by authorized parties.

Secure video sharing can take many forms. Even the simple act of password-protecting video content before sharing it constitutes private video sharing. Similarly, restricting the download of a video before sharing it is also a form of secure video sharing. Other forms of secure video file sharing include using a secure video link, restricting access to specific users and groups, temporary video sharing (URL tokenization), etc.

Epic Private Video Sharing Fails: A Timeline

You might think that since we live in a privacy-aware world, organizations would take extreme care in securely sharing video content stored within their systems through private video sharing. However, that’s where you are wrong.

Despite the increasing importance of secure video file sharing in the enterprise landscape, we have seen organizations accidentally expose their video content to unauthorized users. Not to mention, these companies suffered the consequences of their actions, breaching both data and customer trust.

The following are some of the instances when organizations unintentionally leaked confidential, sensitive video content in a reverse-chronological order:

A timeline diagram showing private video sharing failures by organizations.

Valve (2024)

Valve is an American video game development company known for games like Counter-Strike and Dota, which are played by millions of people worldwide. This year, video clips of the beta version of Deadlock, which seems to be a Valve game, surfaced on the Internet.

What started as the leak of a single video by an X (former Twitter) user spread like wildfire and ended up with 94 leaked clips of the game. Can you believe it? 94. Imagine millions of dollars spent on developing the game flushing down the drain because confidential videos were leaked online.

Apple (2020)

The American technology giant is known for keeping a tight lip about their upcoming products and features. However, mishaps do happen, and Apple is not immune to them.

In 2020, one of the company’s videos accidentally revealed the upcoming product—AirTag—on YouTube. The upcoming launch of the new tracking technology has been in the news for a long time. Not only this, but the launch of AirTag was the highlight of the first 2021 Apple event.

Although this was unintentional on the company’s part, Apple frequently deals with “information leaker” employees. Dozens of them have been fired from their jobs, and some have also been arrested. All this can be simply avoided through secure video file sharing.

Google (2020)

Imagine the amount of data we share with Google. As reported by an Australian Computer Society publication, the search engine giant collects 39 types of data from its users. However, that’s not all. There is much more valuable data stored within Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos.

In 2020, Google accidentally shared customers’ private videos stored within Google Photos with other users. Imagine people’s personal data that should’ve been kept safely suddenly going public. Scary enough, isn’t it?

Babylon Health (2020)

Babylon Health is a UK-based telehealth company that unintentionally shared videos regarding patient consultations with other users on their app. As reported by an X user, the person got access to over 50 consultation videos of other users. This accidental video sharing was similar to Google’s since both organizations mixed up private video content.

In case you aren’t aware, patient-related health information is highly sensitive and governed by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Organizations that violate this act face heavy penalties, depending on the intensity and extent of the data leakage.

Apple (2016)

Wouldn’t you hate it if someone spoiled a movie you’re eagerly planning to watch for days? Of course, you would hate it. Apple fans experienced something similar.

A video of the iPhone 7 Plus was leaked online before the launch event. It was leaked by tipster Sonny Dickson, who is famous for leaking data regarding upcoming Apple products and spoiling it for everyone out there. It is safe to assume that someone from within the company tipped him with the video.

This problem could have been avoided through private video sharing with authorized personnel only so that no untrusted person could have leaked the information.

CERN (2012)

Not all people like surprises, but everyone hates it when someone ruins it for them. The European Organization for Nuclear Research, popularly known as CERN, made a huge mistake when it accidentally leaked an announcement video on its website regarding the landmark discovery of Higgs Boson just a day before the official announcement. Yes, just the day before. Talk about screw-ups.

Google (2011)

Last but not least, Google also accidentally published a video of the Gmail redesign before announcing it through a formal update. Although the organization was quick to take down the video, the damage was already done since different websites took screenshots of the new mail app design.

What Kind of Videos Should be Shared Privately?

Being part of an enterprise, you get to deal with a range of different types of video content that need to be shared securely so that they do not fall into the hands of unauthorized individuals. Some of the most common types of enterprise video content that should be privately shared are discussed as follows:

1. Executive/CEO communication videos
2. Investor relations videos
3. Town hall meeting videos
4. Internal recorded meetings
5. Internal video announcements
6. Change management videos
7. Employee onboarding videos
8. Training and development videos

Executive/CEO Communications Videos

Businesses often conduct leadership team meetings in which top executives (CEO, CFO, CTO, CIO, etc.) participate. These meetings are recorded so that relevant executives do not miss any details, can be rewatched in the future by people who missed them or need to remember details, or privately shared with other key stakeholders in the future.

These meetings often involve sensitive information about a business. For instance, if the meeting is about future investments or asset acquisition, it needs to remain confidential for competitive purposes. The leadership team meeting may also discuss large-scale company issues like organizational culture, the ongoing financial situation, or a debate over a particular client or project.

These meeting videos are supposed to remain with the C-level executives and high-level command only. If you don’t follow a secure way to send videos, everyone within the organization might be able to view them, which can result in internal data theft or unintended data disclosure.

Investor Relations Videos

Investors need timely and reliable corporate information from the company before making an investment. Videos are now helping with this because they capture the full picture of a business's performance, vision, and culture.

These videos are a gold mine of information, as they contain financial reports and communicate how well the company is performing. Investor relations videos might include unannounced features and designs, as well as classified business strategies, painting a picture of the foreseeable future of the company.

Now, imagine if this information is leaked before the official release date. Investors will lose trust in the company and even pull out of their investments. Worse, it can damage the business's stock value. This is why private video sharing is important.

Town Hall Meeting Videos

Businesses conduct town hall meetings to discuss business progress, gain employee feedback, address ongoing issues, and much more. Recording these meetings provides great benefits to businesses, as new joiners or employees who missed it can get insights into the company they are working for.

However, these recorded town hall meetings are more sensitive than you think. If anyone from outside the organization gets this information, it can harm the company's reputation for not protecting internal communications and safeguarding its values. Additionally, these meetings foster open communication, and a data breach would lower employee morale.

Internal Recorded Meetings

Businesses use multiple video conferencing tools, such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Cisco Webex, to conduct virtual meetings. These recorded meetings are then shared with the relevant audience only.

However, for communications and training specialists, this scenario is a headache. The scattered video recordings in different folders pose an even greater risk of unintended information disclosure. It is already difficult to protect content in one folder. Imagine having multiple folders. Moreover, video conferencing platforms, like MS Teams, do not offer robust data security.

This is where private video sharing comes into play. By using a secure way to send videos, you can prevent the mishandling of confidential information.

Internal Video Announcements

You do not want your internal communications to be posted online, do you? Because if you do, they will likely be visible to the public and your clients, which you definitely don’t want. Right?

Internal video communications often include providing the necessary information for business operations (for instance, sharing clients or project data to execute tasks), sharing company goals and objectives for the upcoming year, or discussing sensitive issues that can happen within teams or departments.

Internal video announcements are meant for employees and employees only, and leaks can damage a company's control over the message. If sensitive information gets out, it could harm the company's market reputation with clients, partners, or other stakeholders and cause dissatisfaction among the employees. Worse, it can even have legal consequences for violating data privacy. This is why you should always adopt a secure way to send videos to authorized personnel only.

Change Management Videos

Sometimes, a major change for a business becomes unavoidable for various reasons. However, executing it is not easy, and it comes with great responsibility.

Whether the change management videos are for increasing team productivity or mitigating risks, they always require communicating the change within the organization effectively, securely, and transparently.

However, it is also crucial to maintain confidentiality along with transparency regarding internal change videos. You have to make sure that the video reaches the relevant audience only. Otherwise, your competitors or anyone else will steal your change plan and strategies. You don’t want that to happen, right?

Employee Onboarding Videos

Employee onboarding videos might seem insignificant from a data security standpoint, but they contain a wealth of information. They might explain company policies on data security, demonstrate internal processes, or even introduce confidential, proprietary software used by your organization.

Internal communication professionals are responsible for securing their employees' training videos because competitors or even intruders could exploit the information to gain an advantage, which could cost your organization reputational and financial damage.

Training and Development Videos

Every organization hires fresh batches of new employees at least every year, and you cannot train each one on a granular level every single time. So, what do you do? You create training videos for employees so that they can learn at their own pace.

There are a couple of reasons to securely share training and development videos. Like onboarding videos, training video content also contains vulnerable information.

For instance, it can be about your software, customer service procedures, or even internal security protocols. It is better to keep these videos away from unauthorized individuals because they can reveal your product details to your competitors or even expose the organization to security risks.

On top of that, training videos can be time-consuming to produce. Through private video sharing, organizations can prevent unauthorized copying and distribution, protecting their investment in employee development.

Why is Private Video Sharing Important for Enterprises?

Private video sharing is important for enterprises because they deal with a variety of enterprise video content that contains confidential and sensitive information. As we discussed in the previous section, ranging from top-secret executive communications videos to seemingly less confidential training and learning videos, all of them should be securely shared with relevant stakeholders only to avoid information leakage and other harsh consequences.

Not only secure video file sharing helps secure sensitive information from getting into the wrong hands, but it also enables organizations to maintain a good reputation when it comes to handling confidential data.

In today’s day and age, where privacy awareness is a hot topic among the masses, enterprises who use secure video file sharing methods, such as creating a secure video link that expires by a certain time or the number of times it is accessed, companies can use it as a competitive advantage.

Yes, you read it right. In fact, according to a 2020 Cisco report on data privacy investments, organizations get $2.7 dollars for every dollar they spend on strengthening data privacy.

Private Video Sharing in a Nutshell

To summarize the above, private video sharing refers to securely sharing video content with authorized users. This helps avoid data getting into the hands of bad actors who might use the data either to benefit themselves or hurt the organization. Among many ways of secure video file sharing, using a secure video link, restricting access based on users and groups, and password-protected sharing are some of the common methods of private video sharing.

Private Video Sharing Made Possible with VIDIZMO EnterpriseTube

VIDIZMO EnterpriseTube for private video sharing.

VIDIZMO EnterpriseTube makes private video sharing possible, pretty easy, and flexible by offering a range of methods for secure video file sharing. The Gartner-recognized enterprise video platform can be used to share videos privately with others using a secure video link. This secure video link ensures that the video content is accessible only for a limited time, or you can also restrict it by the number of views.

Not only this, but you can also securely share videos by restricting access to specific users, groups, and departments. Other ways include secure media embedding that allows only selected domains to show your content on their websites, password-protected video content sharing, etc.

Since VIDIZMO EnterpriseTube offers a range of security features, you can rest assured that your enterprise video content remains safe and secure with capabilities like role-based access control, comprehensive encryption, custom security policy, multifactor authentication (MFA), configurable retention, single sign-on (SSO) support, secure media embedding, IP and geo-restrictions, audit log, etc.

Ready to see it in action? Sign up today for a 7-day free trial, or book a demo to know more.

Why Private Video Sharing is Critical for Enterprise Security