PHOENIX, Ariz.—Silicondust has announced it is now an ATSC 3.0 Certificate Authority for NextGen TV and said that it is offering an Online Certificate Status Protocol solution, providing new security options and compliance for TV broadcasters and other industries using the ATSC 3.0 standard.
By becoming an ATSC 3.0 Certificate Authority for NextGen TV, Silicondust can ensure television stations meet all signing security requirements that are part of the ATSC 3.0 standard.
Silicondust is currently issuing FullTrust and AskTrust certificates. FullTrust certificates are an important part of ATSC 3.0 security. They are used to authenticate the transmissions of FCC-licensed television stations so television receivers can check the broadcast has not been tampered with.
AskTrust certificates enable the use of ATSC 3.0 technology in private RF environments, enabling stadiums, airports, government buildings and other facilities to use ATSC 3.0 technology.
"ATSC members identified system security as a key requirement for ATSC 3.0 from day one. They studied modern technologies and practices and designed or adapted systems for our unique ecosystem," said ATSC president, Madeleine Noland. “As with modern computer networks that work behind the scenes to verify signal sources, ATSC 3.0 includes signaling signing to enable NextGen TV sets and set-top boxes to verify the source of broadcast content.”
The new Silicondust is OCSP (Online Certificate Status Protocol) solution ensures broadcasts remain compliant throughout station- and infrastructure-side internet outages that could otherwise result in televisions rejecting TV channels.
“Broadcasters need an ATSC 3.0 security solution that will operate flawlessly throughout any emergency, with or without internet,” said Nick Kelsey, president of Silicondust. “Our OCSP solution does that, ensuring stations can continue to broadcast in the event of station-side or wider scale internet outage.”
Heartland Video Systems is demonstrating the solutions at the ATSC 3.0 Interop being held this week in Plymouth, Wisc. “We believe that offering alternate signing solutions will benefit broadcasters and lead to more robust and flexible workflows,” said HVS ATSC 3.0 technologist Mike Schmidt.
More information is available on the company’s website.
