Pay-TV smartcard hacking – how easy is it?

Over the last couple of days a small furore has erupted over allegations a News Corp subsidiary, NDS, has been hacking the pay-TV smartcards of News Corp’s competitors, and even News Corp’s own companies – allegations that NDS vigorously denies.I’m not going to speculate on the reasons why a supplier of Conditional Access Systems – the technology that allows paid-TV providers to restrict access to their broadcasts – would want to undermine the security of their own product; but I am going to discuss how such systems work, and how secure they are.

Read on, source: Pay-TV smartcard hacking – how easy is it?