Security Impacts of Next-Generation Set-Top Boxes

Using next generation set-top boxes has its advantages and disadvantages. This paper discusses the market and technology trends that are available to influence set-top box designs. It also provides an explanation on how advanced features are making new content security challenges for Set-Top Box (STB) manufacturers. The STB industry has grown with innovation and new revenue opportunities. This briefing points out the constant threats faced by Set-top boxes and their associated Conditional Access (CA) systems and Digital Rights Management (DRM) technologies from device tampering, software security breaches, and hacker attacks. OEMs of STB mentioned in this briefing intend to conquer various security challenges by designing a protection mechanism that address the STB life cycle including initial attack resistance, protection against automated attacks, easy in-field security updating, and cost-effective breach response capability. With the growth in the digital television, the use of real-time video has developed to include time-shifted and on-demand services available from digital video recorders, personal computers, and portable video recorders. STBs talked about in this briefing are now content servers that act as a video source for other devices in the digital home including other set-top boxes, digital televisions, personal computers, and other electronic devices. All details on STB trends and technologies with security challenges adopted by manufacturers are discussed in this briefing. The briefing suggests OEMs to devise and execute security strategies that address the challenges of multi-source, multi-device networked environments.