Re:Netflix now supports TLS 1.3
by elithrar on Tuesday April 21, 2020 @03:20PM
(#22938399)
> I noticed they didn't explicitly mention why they feel the need to ensure authentication+confidentiality+integrity for their streams, given that the data they're dealing with is films and TV shows, rather than, say, payment details.
I can't speak for all of Netflix's motivations, but one of the biggest for OTT platforms is preventing MitM of your streams by middle-proxies - including ISPs.
That MitM prevention encompasses data mining/user privacy, ad injection/replacement, and maintaining control over stream quality (Quality of Experience).
There used to be [and still is, in some places] a lot of transcode-to-lower-bitrate-and-cache-inside-our-network behaviour, especially amongst mobile carriers. Reduced stream quality would reflect on Netflix, not the ISP who might be doing this transparently. A user switching up to 1080p or expecting 4K HDR (as appropriate) wants to get that, and Netflix [or others] want to deliver that experience as intended.
The reason we see a LOT less of this now is due to how easy (and thus, widespsread) TLS became.
I can't speak for all of Netflix's motivations, but one of the biggest for OTT platforms is preventing MitM of your streams by middle-proxies - including ISPs.
That MitM prevention encompasses data mining/user privacy, ad injection/replacement, and maintaining control over stream quality (Quality of Experience).
There used to be [and still is, in some places] a lot of transcode-to-lower-bitrate-and-cache-inside-our-network behaviour, especially amongst mobile carriers. Reduced stream quality would reflect on Netflix, not the ISP who might be doing this transparently. A user switching up to 1080p or expecting 4K HDR (as appropriate) wants to get that, and Netflix [or others] want to deliver that experience as intended.
The reason we see a LOT less of this now is due to how easy (and thus, widespsread) TLS became.