Registers – Records – Conductive
Patent
1997-01-30
1998-12-22
Gross, Anita Pellman
Registers
Records
Conductive
235380, 902 2, 902 26, G06K 1906
Patent
active
058522905
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention involves access control systems including an integrated circuit (IC) card, or "smart" card, for limiting access to information in signal processing applications. Systems such as pay-TV systems include access control subsystems that limit access to certain programs or channels. Only users who are entitled (e.g., paid a fee) are permitted to view the programs. One approach to limiting access is to modify the signal by, for example, scrambling or encrypting the signal. Scrambling typically involves modifying the form of the signal using methods such as removing synchronization pulses. Encryption involves modifying a data component included in the signal according to a particular cryptographic algorithm. Only individuals who are entitled to access are given the "key" needed to descramble or decrypt the signal. The terms scrambling and descrambling as used below are intended to encompass access control techniques in general, including cryptography and scrambling.
Access control systems may include an integrated circuit (IC) card, or "smart" card, feature. A smart card is a plastic card the size of a credit card that has a signal processing IC embedded in the plastic. A smart card is inserted into a card reader that couples signals to and from the IC in the card. International Standards Organization (ISO) standard 7816 establishes specifications for an IC card interface. In particular, ISO standard 7816-2 specifies that the electrical interface to the card will be via eight contacts positioned on the card surface as shown in FIG. 2A. Six of the eight signals at the contact points are defined as VCC (supply voltage), RST (reset signal), CLK (clock signal), GND (ground), VPP (programming voltage for programming memory in the card IC), and I/O (serial data input/output). Two contacts are reserved for future use. The assignment of the signals to the smart card contacts is shown in FIG. 2B.
The IC in a smart card processes data such as security control information as part of an access control protocol. The IC includes a control microcomputer, such as the 6805 processor from Motorola Semiconductor, Austin, Tex., which includes ROM, EEPROM, and RAM memory. The processor performs various security control functions including entitlement management and generating the key for descrambling the scrambled data component of the signal.
Entitlement management involves modifying information stored in the card that specifies the card owner's entitlements (i.e. programs and services that a user is entitled to access). The processor adds and deletes entitlements in response to entitlement information in entitlement management messages (EMM) that are included in the input signal. EMM data typically indicates entitlement to a particular service, e.g. all programming on a particular channel, or to a particular program offered by a service, e.g., one movie on a particular channel. Because EMM relates to relatively long term entitlement, EMM typically occurs infrequently in a signal.
Once entitled to a service or program, descrambling of the service or program can occur only after generating a descrambling key. Key generation occurs in response to entitlement control messages (ECM) that are also included in the input signal. ECM provides initialization data for key generation routines that are executed by the processor. Each time a service provider changes the scrambling key, ECM data is included in the signal so that a system entitled to access can generate the corresponding new descrambling key. To aid in preventing unauthorized access to- scrambled signals, the key is changed frequently, e.g., every two seconds. Thus, ECM data occurs frequently in the signal.
EMM and ECM data is transferred to the smart card for processing via the serial I/O terminal of the ISO standard 7816 interface. The serial I/O terminal is also used to transfer the generated key from the card to a descrambler unit in the video signal processing channel. The descrambler descrambles the data component of the input signal, e.g. video and audi
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Emanuel Peter M.
Gross Anita Pellman
Lee Michael G.
Shoneman David T.
Thomson Consumer Electronics Inc.
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