Silicondust Announces Certificate Authority For ATSC 3.0/NextGen TV

Silicondust, a provider of global solutions to Live TV streaming has rolled out two developments: a new certificate authority for ATSC 3.0 television broadcasters and a patent-pending OCSP (Online Certificate Status Protocol). These advancements, the company said, “provide further security options and an innovative compliance solution for television broadcasters and other industries that utilize the ATSC 3.0 standard.”

Leading off, Silicondust is now an ATSC 3.0 Certificate Authority for NextGen TV which will ensure that broadcast television stations meet all signing security requirements of the ATSC 3.0 standards.

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 utilize ATSC 3.0 technology.

ATSC President Madeleine Noland said: “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. 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.”

Silicondust is also announcing a patent-pending OCSP (Online Certificate Status Protocol) solution for ATSC 3.0. This technology ensures broadcasts remain compliant throughout station-side 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, Silicondust president. “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 will be demonstrating this work at the ATSC 3.0 Interop being held this week in Wisconsin. Mike Schmidt, ATSC 3.0 Technologist at HVS, added: “We believe that offering alternate signing solutions will benefit broadcasters and lead to more robust and flexible workflows.”

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