Data Security has sealed a deal with the R&D arm of the US cable television industry to provide public key and symmetric encryption technology for the various components of the digital cable network, such as set-top boxes, cable modems, and video servers.

CableLabs, the cable industry trade group, will use RSA's security software components to protect users' privacy by enabling secure authentication and communication over digital cable networks, under the agreement announced Tuesday. The encryption tech provided by RSA, a subsidiary of Security Dynamics Technologies, will be just one part of a larger security system designed to protect entertainment, voice, and data services from theft and denial-of-service attacks.

Under the terms of the agreement, CableLabs will distribute and sublicense to equipment manufacturers the RSA security component object code required to implement RSA's public key and symmetric cryptography in their network products. RSA will receive per-unit royalties for the use of its technology.

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