Table of Contents

Consolidated Packaging Includes C2PA Service Option & Much Else

Introduction

Red5, in an alliance with EZDRM, has taken an important step toward normalization of MOQ (Media over QUIC) as the standardized gateway to next-generation streaming with unified packaging of best-of-breed multi-DRM protection for use in all streaming scenarios via the Red5 Video Packager.

EZDRM’s world-class DRM-as-a-Service platform supporting multi-DRM, anti-fake provenance validation and other security-related advances is now fully integrated with our Video Packager. That means superior streaming revenue security can be automatically activated when needed to secure any payload streamed live or on demand over any of the leading streaming infrastructures, including those supporting the new MOQ Transport standard developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).

This makes it easy for customers to activate a market-leading approach to protecting content operating over conventional CDNs. And, in a move that allows our customers to avoid the challenges that go with making DRM usage compatible with MOQ, we’re making EZDRM the default protection mode for Red5 Cloud customers who operate over the global MOQ CDN infrastructure we’ve built in partnership with CacheFly or any others we may bring to market in the future.

Security, including standardized DRM is, of course, critical to making MOQ a viable platform for streaming premium content whether live or on demand. In nearly all cases, premium content targeted to consumer audiences can’t be licensed for distribution without the policy-enforcement mechanisms embodied in the leading DRM systems.

A multi-DRM system like EZDRM’s is packaged with premium content to employ whichever DRM system works with internet-connected devices to execute policy controls that determine whether users are authorized to receive the decryption keys that unlock access. And DRM is also widely used to protect A/V payloads distributed in restricted enterprise and institutional use cases.

Accelerating Progress toward MOQ Adoption

Conversion to the real-time and other streaming benefits provided by MOQ, which is not directly compatible with conventional HTTP-based streaming, poses challenges at both the transport and media layers of streaming architecture. But much has already been accomplished to make the transition as smooth as possible.

As described here, the IETF, which is close to finalizing the MOQ Transport specifications, has done a remarkable job using open-source components that minimize the costs and hassles of infrastructure transformation to create a much more versatile streaming environment with latencies tunable from real-time to multi-second speeds and independently manageable application tracks encapsulated within each payload. At the media layer, IETF is also formulating specifications for media layer formatting, including the MOQ Streaming Format (MSF) and the companion CMAF-optimized CMSF, while encouraging others to do likewise.

At Red5 we’ve worked with CacheFly to achieve MOQ compatibility on its CDN with support for multi-transport protocol ingestion into and egress from MOQ relays created through use of our Experience Delivery Network (XDN) Architecture to orchestrate cloud resources under CacheFly’s control. At the same time, we’ve taken major steps with the Red5 Video Packager and our Playa client player framework to streamline operations at the MOQ media layer.

As explained in this white paper, our packager achieves the essential goal of reducing the costs and complexities of streaming content in a multi-transport platform environment by enabling not only the aggregation of payload elements and functions but also efficient use of processing resources across all the major streaming infrastructures as customers move from one streaming mode to the next. And, as described here, the Playa player has been endorsed by the OpenMOQ Software Consortium as a template for building MOQ players suited to playback involving any use case supported by the IETF’s or other MOQ streaming formats. We, of course, have built Playa into our Red5 SDK and associated MOQ player and publishing capabilities.

Best-of-Breed Content Protection with Converged Packaging

Now customers can benefit from this single-silo unification of stream packaging knowing they can implement the EZDRM platform with MOQ as effortlessly as they can in any other streaming environment. Critically, as the only next-gen DRM platform supplier to have joined the OpenMOQ Consortium, EZDRM has left no doubt that it can measure up to its ironclad performance standards in the MOQ domain.

Our integration with Red5 and the things we demonstrated at the NAB Show prove our multi-DRM, C2PA and other advanced content security solutions work with MOQ.”

– David Eisenbacher, CEO & Co-Founder, EZDRM

In fact, our partnership is a natural outgrowth of our interactions through the consortium. As a founding member, Red5 has had a front-row seat witnessing the validations of reliability and scope of security EZDRM brings to MOQ streaming, which came to light at the recent NAB Show.

There, as reported by the OpenMOQ Consortium, EZDRM collaborated with Qualabs and Ateme to demonstrate the first implementation of content protection built directly into MOQ with provenance verification through the Content Credentials formulated in compliance with the C2PA standard developed by the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity. The end-to-end live streaming workflow leveraged EZDRM’s multi-DRM support with MOQ Relays that were also equipped to sign C2PA Content Credentials into each segment for delivery of live provenance validation to all recipients.

This was a significant achievement requiring modifications across three open-source projects. These included adapting processing in MOQ Relays to sign content in real time with the arrival of each stream segment; extension of C2PA Rust SDKs (C2PA-RS) to handle live CMAF streams, and tuning the C2PA JavaScript repository (C2PA-js) to ensure player-side verifications synchronize with playback.

As we reported in this blog, Red5’s MOQ-related demos were also part of the industry-wide display of support for the new streaming standard that unfolded at NAB 2026. Now with MOQ operations underway globally on our own and many other CDN and vendor streaming platforms, the availability of a fully baked MOQ-optimized content protection system as the default option on the managed Red5 Cloud MOQ streaming service is a big inducement to market adoption of the real-time and other next-gen streaming capabilities that can be achieved with MOQ.

We are glad to be ahead of the adoption curve for MOQ services. We believe that we’ve proven our security delivered over MOQ infrastructure works seamlessly in M&E customers’ workflows. There’s now an opportunity for the rest of the industry to expand on these foundations and create a broader commercial streaming environment.. Part of that is to have people building out more elements of the MOQ infrastructure.”

– Olga Kornienko, COO & Co-Founder, EZDRM

EZDRM’s cloud-based Universal Complete multi-DRM service is widely recognized for supporting simple activation of robust protection across virtually all devices with dynamically scalable, multi-cloud redundancy. Along with the Widevine, FairPlay and PlayReady DRM systems that dominate streaming in the U.S. and many other places, Universal Complete extends comprehensive protection globally to devices linked to the Huawei WisePlay DRM.

Adding to the versatility, EZDRM works with customers to tailor protection in B2B and other scenarios where all devices work on a single DRM system, in which case there’s no need to implement the full Universal Complete service.

When it comes to mass market premium content streaming, Universal Complete embeds all major DRM systems in a single origin file while allowing flexible license server configurations in multi-regional deployments with support for consistent low-latency delivery enabled by resistance to packet loss and network variability in all locations. The multi-DRM system is compatible with packaging as formulated by individual streaming formats and works with unified packaging enabled by the Common Media Application Format (CMAF) whenever possible, which along with maximizing efficient use of DRM protection creates a fallback to conventional streaming of CMAF-packaged payloads in the event of MOQ Transport failures when the MOQ Streaming Format or other CMAF-optimized MOQ streaming modes are in use.

In all cases involving use of its technology, EZDRM provides support for quality control through real-time monitoring, detailed logging of license transactions and alerting for anomalies or failures. Commitments to service resilience are documented in SLAs with uptime guarantees and other performance benchmarks matched to cloud operators’ and other ecosystem parameters.

A Major Enhancement to Multi-DRM Streaming

A key advantage of the EZDRM approach to content protection entails the decoupling of DRM robustness rules like output protection and business-related DRM consumption policies from the mechanics of the stream encryption process. One outgrowth of this architecture pertains to the dynamic key generation policies used with live-streamed premium content.

While the basic Universal Complete package supports the universal rotational key refreshments delivered at regular intervals to all session participants in all locations, EZDRM has gone much further with an optional key management service that overcomes the inadequacies of this traditional approach. In those scenarios the same refreshment keys are often sent to all live session viewers, increasing vulnerability to pirates’ rapid-fire DRM scraping techniques while incurring issues related to license regeneration overhead that are made worse in massively viewed event streaming involving high-volume “license storms” and the aggregated impact of glitches at the device level.

In contrast, EZDRM’s optional Precision Envelope Management (PEM) service can be seamlessly activated with Universal Complete or on a standalone basis to support a much more distributed approach to key rotation and live content protection. While DRM remains the centralized authority for entitlements and core cryptographic protection mechanisms, PEM provides a complementary enhancement to protection by adding a cryptographic layer that employs granular key management and rapid key rotation targeted in time and by location from CDN edge nodes to locally engaged devices, which greatly reduces stream vulnerability to scraping attacks and illegal license sharing.

Integrated Support for C2PA Provenance Verification

Another service option that can be seamlessly activated with EZDRM protection in the Red5 Video Packager or any others used with MOQ and other streaming formats entails the previously mentioned support for C2PA. The standard has gained broad acceptance as a common format creators and publishers can use to embed metadata and cryptographic proofs of provenance legitimacy in digital media with certified Content Credentials consumers can rely on to know they’re not receiving fakes.

This is especially important to news broadcasters eager to counter the rising tide of AI-doctored versions of their content permeating the internet, but with fakes spreading to all corners of the media universe, the need for CP2A is intensifying well beyond news feeds. The European Union’s law enforcement agency Europol issued a report in 2024 that predicted up to 90% of online content would be generated synthetically. As for the news sector, a study released by Reuter’s Institute for the Study of Journalism in 2025 found that 74% of adults surveyed worldwide said they were encountering misinformation in news feeds at least once a week.

As a member of the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity, EZDRM has taken a leading role in the drive to establish a common approach to validating content provenance. In February, the EZDRM Video Signature Service (VSR) became the first Level 2 conformance generator to be verified by the organization. And, as noted above, the EZDRM collaboration with Qualabs and Ateme at NAB Show 2026 produced the first implementation of content protection built directly into MOQ with C2PA-based provenance verification.

EZDRM’s support for the Level-2 C2PA certification entails independently validated signing of credentials with secure private key-management controls that go further than the more basic developer-managed trust models used at Level 1 to ensure content generator identities are authentic. C2PA-authenticated content can be labeled with Content Credential “pins” to make the validation visible to consumers or content generators can leave it to professionals in the distribution chain to check for invisibly embedded C2PA metadata through their browsers or other means.

Adding to the utility of EZDRM’s C2PA support, the VSR service is complemented by availability of the EZDRM Provenance Security Vault (PSV) and the low-latency Provenance Repository System (PRS). The PSV aids providers in high-volume C2PA use cases by ensuring the provenance metadata is securely stored in a separate, trusted location outside the immediate media file or container. The PRS seamlessly integrates with existing streaming workflows to facilitate content traceability and accountability in sports, news and other large-scale distributions.

All of these capabilities are available with EZDRM implementations through Red5’s universal Video Packager. This sets the course both companies will be following as C2PA gains traction and additional tools focused on thwarting the deep-fake threat enter the market.

Keeping Pace with Evolving Security Requirements

There’s a long way to go in that regard, even with wider adoption of C2PA. While C2PA provides a standardized way to establish provenance authenticity, there are vulnerabilities sophisticated perpetrators of deep-fake agendas are sure to probe, as spelled out in C2PA documentation and other reports, including a recent critique issued by a team of researchers from the University of Maryland, the National Security Agency and elsewhere. Drilling down to specific instances, one new report names a remote code execution vulnerability tied to Adobe’s C2PA-based Content Authenticity Initiative.

These challenges underscore the importance of due diligence when it comes to choosing DRM suppliers. Red5 customers can be sure the strong start toward combatting deep fakes that’s now attainable through access to the EZDRM platform will continue at the leading edge of security as C2PA and other experts add new protections for adoption into the VSR service.

And they can also be confident they’ll have recourse to guidance in taking care of other security concerns as embodied in the multiple layers of what EZDRM calls the Revenue Security Prism. It’s a label that’s meant to emphasize that multi-DRM protection is a foundational security layer working with many other mechanisms that go into fully securing high-value online content.

These include C2PA provenance integrity, localized key rotations and session tokenization tying playback authorization to a specific session or device as directly supported by EZDRM as well as third-party solutions operating in the other Prism layers. That side of the ledger includes forensic watermarking; geofencing, which reinforces geographic limitations on content consumption, and VPN detection that’s aimed at detecting and defeating malign efforts to hide user locations.

Customers seeking clarity on what they need and where to find the best solutions can benefit from EZDRM’s hands-on expertise in all these areas. In applications involving third-party solutions, that know-how stems in part from work with best-of-breed partners whose platforms are often deployed in tandem with the sophisticated DRM solutions supplied by EZDRM.

Conclusion

The Red5-EZDRM alliance has set a new benchmark defining the efficiency, flexibility and range of capabilities creators, publishers and service providers can expect in pursuit of optimum content security. Through the integration of EZDRM’s multifaceted cloud-based DRM-as-a-Service core with Red5’s multi-protocol Video Packager best-of-breed content security can be employed from a single portal with live and on-demand streaming sessions delivered via HLS, Low-Latency HLS, MPEG-DASH, Low-Latency DASH, or MOQ.

As the first multi-DRM service to offer integrated support for C2PA provenance verification in the MOQ streaming environment, the EZDRM platform is now the default protection solution for Red5 Cloud customers executing MOQ streaming over the next-gen global CDN created through Red5’s partnership with CacheFly. EZDRM’s C2PA-compliant Video Signature Service is also available along with other EZDRM advancements for use with the Red5 Video Packager in all other streaming scenarios.

Those extensions include rapid key rotation and geo-targeting offered through the Precision Envelope Management service with optional backing for efficient large-scale PEM applications through the EZDRM Provenance Security Vault and the low-latency Provenance Repository System. These are now available for packaging with all the traditional streaming modes and will soon be available for use with MOQ streaming on the Red5 Cloud service.

In very short order, MOQ has emerged as a force to be reckoned with across the video streaming ecosystem. Now everyone exploring MOQ as a next-gen streaming solution that reduces complexities and costs with multi-latency flexibility and unlimited use case granularity can move toward commercial adoption knowing the best in content protection will be activated automatically whenever they need it.

To learn more about the Red5-EZDRM partnership with an eye on what comes next, contact us any time. Use this link to sign up for beta testing MOQ as we prepare for commercial rollout.

The Red5 Team brings together software, DevOps, and quality assurance engineers, project managers, support experts, sales managers, and marketers with deep experience in live video, audio, and data streaming. Since 2005, the team has built solutions used by startups, global enterprises, and developers worldwide to power interactive real-time experiences. Beyond core streaming technology, the Red5 Team shares insights on industry trends, best practices, and product updates to help organizations innovate and scale with confidence.