Irdeto Cloaked CA ships 500,000 units in first six months: Europe
Software-based conditional access builds rapid momentum worldwide; Irdeto Cloaked CA the security solution of choice for pay TV operators including Stofa, Polsat and Zeonbud
AMSTERDAM and BEIJING – 13 June 2012 – Irdeto, a global software security and media technology company, today announced that more than 500,000 set-top boxes embedded with Irdeto Cloaked CA were shipped globally in the first six months following its launch at IBC 2011. This figure is expected to increase significantly over the next year, with customers such as Stofa, Polsat and Zeonbud confirming that pay TV operators and broadcasters have realized the efficiency and cost effectiveness of software security-based conditional access (CA).
Irdeto Cloaked CA is a fully-featured, studio-approved and software-based CA solution which makes extensive use of Irdeto's patented Cloakware technology to provide the best possible protection against hacking, reverse engineering and tampering, enabling pay TV operators to offer premium content to their customers without the complexity and costs associated with the deployment, disposal and swapping of physical smart cards. Using Irdeto Cloaked CA, customers can realize savings of up to 50 percent on the total cost of ownership of a smart card-based CA system with the added benefit of renewable software security and real-time piracy countermeasures. The proven success of Irdeto Cloaked CA demonstrates a major industry shift towards strengthening and future-proofing content security.
Doug Lowther, EVP of Digital TV at Irdeto said: “With pay TV operators and broadcasters facing increased pressure to retain customer loyalty and protect revenues, we developed Irdeto Cloaked CA to relieve the ongoing pain points experienced with smart-card based CA so that our customers can focus on what matters most to them, whether that be increasing subscribers or rolling out multi-screen initiatives. The removal of physical cards from the ecosystem not only reduces business costs, but it greatly improves the overall customer experience.”
Thomas Helbo, CTO at Stofa, a leading Danish pay TV operator, said: "By implementing Cloaked CA, we will be able to develop new sources of revenue through our cardless offering and greatly improve the quality of service for our customers. Customer loyalty is of paramount importance to Stofa, and Irdeto’s innovative technology ensures our customers can continually receive premium content - whether live, VOD, time-shift or network-based PVR services - without having to deal with a smart card.”
Olga Zomer, spokesperson for Polsat, a leading Polish DTH platform, added: “As the pay TV market matures in Poland, we needed a security solution that differentiated us from competitors. The Cloaked CA solution not only ensures that we consistently deliver content across our pay TV channels, but allows for future development to deliver content across mobile platforms – a crucial area of growth for Polsat.”
“With Cloaked CA, we now have the capability to provide secure content that powers an optimum digital TV service to our Ukranian customers,” commented Victor Galich, General Manager of Zeonbud, a Ukrainian digital terrestrial network provider. “In a fast-paced market, the renewable nature of Irdeto’s solution has allowed us to safeguard our offering against future developments and advancing piracy models, ensuring that we can always offer a high level of security.”
The Irdeto Cloaked CA solution represents a revolution in conditional access technology, not only because it saves operators money and simplifies operations, but because it is the first one-way broadcast conditional access client to gain wide familiarity and trust from Hollywood studios. Achieving this level of conditional access protection in a one-way environment without a smart card requires complex and advanced technologies, and Irdeto Cloaked CA uses technologies such as source code obfuscation, white-box cryptography, temporal and spatial diversification, and complete renewability of the client to ensure its ongoing integrity and maintain dynamic security for the deployment lifecycle of its services.
Before launching in 2011, independent audits on Irdeto Cloaked CA were conducted by industry experts including T-Systems Germany and Farncombe Technology Ltd.
About Irdeto
Irdeto is the most innovative software security and media technology company in the world. Through its diversified, renewable security, and monetization technologies, the company allows new forms of distribution for broadcast /broadband/mobile entertainment, and for the world’s most popular app, e-stores and consumer devices. Co-headquartered in Amsterdam and Beijing, Irdeto employs about 1,000 people in 25 locations around the world. It is a subsidiary of multinational media group Naspers (JSE: NPN).
For further information about Irdeto please contact:
Laura Strong
Ruder Finn UK
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7438 3070
Mobile: +44 (0) 7837 943645
Email: lstrong@ruderfinn.co.uk
Katie Judd
Senior Manager, Public and Internal Relations
Tel: +1 415 967 7148
Mobile: +1 603 738 9599
Email: katie.judd@irdeto.com
