Pay TV pirates stopped by STMicroelectronics Chip

Recently Virgin Media has had a problem with set-top-boxes being altered so that the user can receive more services without paying for them.

For pay-TV operators this pirating is serious worry, as most of the time they are unaware that it is occurring.

However, STMicroelectronics has come up with a chip for set-top-boxes that prevents signal theft and therefore in the long run will save the pay TV operator a lot of lost revenue.

According to the chip maker millions of pounds are lost every year through pay-TV broadcast signals being decrypted for viewing or even being recorded and distributed.

The most common types of piracy are card cloning and using computers to fool the system.

The new chip can detect and stop this from occurring.