Integrated security for digital video broadcast

As satellite TV becomes more prevalent and the content becomes more valuable, the motivation to pirate its content become greater. Although conditional access and encryption schemes are used in satellite receivers to secure the broadcast content from signal thieves, many of the current systems are vulnerable to attack. A conditional access and encryption device in a fully integrated hardware solution may thwart would be attackers. The challenge then is to provide a conditional access system for the digital video broadcast (DVB) system while maintaining a level of security that adequately protects the content. This paper addresses the merits of a single chip solution to provide both conditional access and the DVB descrambler functionality. By discussing some benefits of an integrated solution implemented on a PCMCIA card, the advantages to consumers and content providers alike will become apparent. We then detail a solution that not only addresses the problem from a security and convenience perspective, but also provides an efficient, high-speed, cost effective solution.