The tiny set-top box permits you to stream local media, Netflix, and iTunes rentals, but it doesn't allow Internet browsing, weather apps, or streaming radio stations. How to Hack an FTA Receiver by Greyson Ferguson; Updated September 28, 2017 FTA satellite receivers, also referred to as free-to-air receivers, are devices that receive unscrambled satellite signals from an attached dish.
Over the last couple of days a small furore has erupted a News Corp subsidiary, has been hacking the pay-TV smartcards of News Corp’s competitors, and even News Corp’s own companies – allegations that NDS. I’m not going to speculate on the reasons why a supplier of – 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.
A Conditional Access Module (CAM) is a combination of encryption keys, smartcards and electronics and computer code inside a satellite or cable-TV receiver (or “decoder”). The pay-TV provider encrypts the digital signal sent to the subscriber with an encryption key. The subscriber plugs a smartcard into his/her decoder, which decrypts the signal so programs and films can be displayed on the screen. Some decoders have the smartcard built-in already, so there is no external slot. The is a plastic card with a chip - much like a modern credit card. You can see electrical contacts on the chip.
When the card is inserted, the chip is plugged into the decoder, allowing the CAM to get the decryption key. Other information is also stored on the chip – subscriber ID, subscription details, billing details, censorship filters and so on. We don’t really know what’s there unless we hack into the chip, because it’s all kept secret. Each chip will have it’s own non-volatile memory (requires no battery), computer programs and a small (CPU).
The security of the system depends on a few things:. secrecy of the encryption algorithm. secrecy of the keys.
secrecy of the hardware. So let’s start with the. An algorithm is a recipe for doing something – in this case, for scrambling and descrambling the digital signal. Some CAM providers write their own algorithm, and depend on it remaining a secret. That’s a bit like hiding your door key inside a brick or under a flower pot – once the secret (that the key is in the brick) is discovered, you have no security. Works this way.
A much better approach is to keep the key with you (a secret key). Everybody knows how your door security works (you put the right key in the lock and turn), but that only works if you have the key. If your lock (algorithm) is faulty, you’ll find out quickly enough and replace the lock. Of course, Pay-TV subscribers would have to remember the key, and have to enter it into their decoder - very inconvenient, but very safe. Foxtel uses CAMs. These use encryption - a reasonably complex encryption algorithm that’s difficult to crack without employing lots of supercomputers.
3DES is a known algorithm - it has been tested for years and, if implemented correctly, will be safe. And the security of the decryption key? That’s stored on the chip in the smartcard.
Just like hiding it inside a (very thin) brick. 3DES is a, which means you use the same key to encrypt and decrypt. If hackers can open up the card and get to the key, they can extract the key and use it to make cloned cards.
This leads us to the secrecy of the hardware. Four years ago, Wired magazine posted a YouTube video (see below) showing Chris Tarnovsky demonstrating how to extract the chip from a smartcard, and access the electrical signals. Reprogramming the card to display its stored data (including the decryption key) is the next step. Modern cards are better, but the techniques for getting into them are also better. It’s not even necessary to open up the card. Many digital TV watchers use techniques such as card sharing or to spread the cost of a Pay-TV subscription among tens or hundreds of people.
And you can buy blank smartcards online from places such as for a few cents each. There are also dedicated forums online to help would-be criminals access satellite TV and Pay-TV without a subscription. Just Google terms such as, and (Modified Original Smart Card). So just as with (circumventing the built-in security mechanisms of the Xbox and Xbox 360 videogame consoles), (gaining “superuser” permissions to your Android device’s software) and iPhones (gaining root access to Apple’s operating system), pay-TV piracy/hacking is happening now. The information is out there and is easy to access. Of course, anyone attempting to use the information has to be technically capable and adventurous.
Is it being done on an industrial scale? Perhaps in places such as China or South America. A lot of the hardware which enables or supports unlawful access to IT systems (e.g. – the illegal copying of information from the magnetic strip of a credit or ATM card) appears to be coming from those regions. The Chinese government is and the systems which support it. My opinion is that the skills required (to hack these smartcards) are beyond most wannabe pirates and hackers. Besides, it’s much easier just to install the peer-to-peer file-sharing protocol and download any program or film you want.
. Telephony, internet and digital TV from a single provider for only EUR 39.95 per month - one year HD+ included. TV and radio signal via satellite; interactive add-on services such as electronic program guide and online video store via. HD-capable Sat receiver with 500 GB hard drive for only EUR 5.95 per month As of September 1, 2011, Deutsche Telekom's TV offer, Entertain, is available via satellite and therefore to over 75 percent of all households in Germany. TV and radio signals are transmitted via digital satellite signal, for example via Astra for more than 270 TV and 170 radio stations - including HD+ channels such as RTL HD, Sat.1 HD and ProSieben HD.
The HD+ card needed to receive HD+ programs comes with the Entertain Sat package and is free of charge for the first year. Interactive convenience functions including the online video store, Electronic Program Guide (EPG) and Program Manager, which enables users to remotely program their hard disk recorders, are supplied via the customer's internet line.
Beside digital television, Entertain Sat includes a flatrate for fixed network and internet with a bandwidth of between three and sixteen Mbit/s and is available from EUR 39.95 per month. The term of the contract is 24 months. The HD-capable Media Receiver 500 Sat hard disk recorder with a capacity of 500 gigabytes comes at EUR 5.95 per month. Into the world of digital TV Entertain Sat is designed for all households that were unable to receive Entertain to date as well as for customers wanting to combine digital satellite reception with interactive add-on services.
Entertain Sat also represents the perfect entry into the world of digital TV for everyone affected by the impending discontinuation of the analog satellite signal scheduled for April 2012. Thanks to the time-shift TV feature, viewers can simply halt programs and go on watching later. Thousands of movies and series highlights - including HD and 3D quality - can be retrieved from the TV archive or online video store simply at the push of a button. Viewers can then start watching a favorite movie or series during download and view it as often as they choose within a 48-hour period.
The Program Manager allows subscribers to start the download conveniently from a PC or - coming soon - via a smartphone when away from home. In addition to all this, the Program Manager enables users to program TV recordings remotely via any type of internet access, such as from a PC or smartphone. The EPG provides a quick view of the current TV schedule as well as that for the next two weeks. All the user has to do is press one button once to program recordings, and another to program whole series. Thanks to the recommend function, which is unique in Germany’s TV landscape, each user is supplied with program tips based on their viewing ratings. Entertain Sat offers the full range of functions available in Entertain with the exception of the optional LIGA total!
And TV packages. Storage space for up to 300 hours of viewing The HD-capable Media Receiver 500 Sat is a satellite receiver and personal hard disk recorder in one.
It transmits digital TV and radio signals as well as content from the online video store and TV archive to viewers' television sets. The twin tuner and single cable standard make it possible to view one program while recording another. The media receiver can be controlled remotely via any internet connection when users are on the move. The integrated HD hard disk recorder offers a storage capacity of 500 gigabytes for up to 300 hours of recorded viewing. Subscribers to Entertain Sat require a line with a minimum bandwidth of three Mbit/s.
Additionally, they need the Media Receiver 500 Sat plus a satellite dish with a digital reception unit (LNB). For EUR 49.95 Deutsche Telekom offers on-site installation of the Telekom components and instruction on how to use the media recorder. When it comes to installation of and upgrades to the satellite system, Deutsche Telekom recommends customers use its cooperation partner Cervis. About Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom is one of the world's leading integrated telecommunications companies with around 128 million mobile customers, 35 million fixed-network lines and approximately 17 million broadband lines (as of June 30, 2011). The Group provides products and services for the fixed network, mobile communications, the Internet and for consumers, and solutions for business customers and corporate customers. Deutsche Telekom is present in over 50 countries and has around 241,000 employees worldwide.
The Group generated revenues of EUR 62.4 billion in the 2010 financial year - more than half of it outside Germany (as of December 31, 2010).