3 ms·

do a binary chop - turn on a 1 pixel watermark in 1/2 the 1/4, 1/8 .....

• candiodari 9y ago
  This is likely a satellite broadcast signal. That signal is encrypted, and the watermark is inserted by the decoder. If the decoder gets hacked they have no options.
  • Taniwha 9y ago
    (disclaimer: I used to build set top boxes doing satellite/cable protocol stuff ...) they start by uploading new firmware to the decoder and changing it to only accept signed images (I bet they already do this, up to date firmware typically runs on a slow carousel on each satellite transponder) Once you have your code in control on all your valid boxes you can switch the crypto - either the hacked box falls off the crypto and stops working or it does your watermarking - you can send EMMs to all the boxes telling them to identify themselves - blink out their box id in a random pixel somewhere (or do the binary thing mentioned above) - once you have that you send them an EMM to shut off their crypto
    • candiodari 9y ago
      I did network consulting for one such organisation. Their management had taken the following -utterly brilliant- decisions in succession. 1. They got hacked, didn't respond. 2. Someone used the (published) hack to make cheaper decoder boxes. Management decided to sell these hacked, rather than the genuine ones. Or to put it another way, they screwed up logistics of their own boxes to the point that they decided to sell someone else's boxes. 3. Someone started rebroadcasting their signal. First on the internet, eventually on actual radio waves. Because of 2) they couldn't turn off the hacker's signal. And they didn't want to because this would mean "taking a loss" to shareholders (ie. admitting the financial consequences of their own disastrous past decisions). So "for business reasons" it may not be as simple as redoing the encryption.