Another New smart card

[nobbly]

Another new card for Satellite projects has been released. Known as the
“SuperPIC Card”
MM SuperPIC Zen wafercard PIC18F452 and 24LC256 embedded into a plastic card.

As yet I have not seen any files that can be used with it.
A few months ago I mentioned a Emerald Wafercard with a PIC16F628 and 24LC64 but since then I havn't seen any files for that either.

Also the new seca 2 so called D-day files use another new card using 2 processing and 2 eprom chips but little is know about these cards that is if they exist.

The SuperPIC Card is out now but it's better to wait a while before parting with your cash..

nobbly

 

[2old4this]

Well I for one won't be buying any new cards unless a demonstrated new hack requires it. I've already got a stack of them , in ever-increasing power/memory spec for an ever-decreasing range of providers...
I was actually waiting for the last of Via1, Seca1 and Irdeto1 stuff to disappear so I can dust off my single-PIC dmac wafers again...

For anyone curious about the "V-Max" card and the supposed D-day hack, here's the D-day pack:
http://www.tonydoe.com/D_day_emu_Seca2.zip
(but I emphasize - this is all a HOAX)

2old

 

[nobbly]

So why do companies spend money making cards, like the SuperPIC Card and the Emerald Wafercard . Even the sat shops have them in stock.
Is this a case of produce cards before there is any use for them or do they know things we don't ?

nobbly

 

[2old4this]

My view: they are just taking a calculated risk.
One+ might also ask: why are companies continuing to develop programmers (MasteraIII for example). They have simply calculated that they can recover their investments before the bubble bursts. Just a normal business risk, like any other.

Think about this: There is no videoguard hack, after three (four?) years. There is no public Conax hack even after the commercial hack has been available for years. There is no public Irdeto2 hack, not even a confirmed commercial hack - more than a year after the introduction of that system. There is no viaccess2 hack and that's been out for getting on for a year too. No seca2 hack yet, and just imagine how many interested parties there are in cracking that one - again the system is more than half a year old now.

Fast forward 6 months. Every last seca1 and viaccess1 provider wil have switched. PremiereWorld and probably mediavision will be on Betacrypt2. And with the latest rumours about Murdoch bidding for the ailing Canal+, it is likely that the last remaining Irdeto1 stuff of Canal+NL will have gone too.

If those coming 6 months are like the last year, there will be no new hacks. So what will people be doing with all that expensive kit and their expensive p4-powered wafers (or whatever it is by then)? Programming garage-door-openers?

Nah, we've had the golden-age. That was the last two years. Those on the inside know this and are desperate to make as much money as possible before the bubble bursts. So they'll keep bombarding the innocent public (who blindly extrapolate from the last 2 years and assume that some hobbyists somewhere will crack the new systems).

In fact, let's take a look at the major hacks over the past couple of years: Viaccess was reportedly hacked by the Russian mafia; Seca1 was almost certainly hacked by an Isreali team funded by NDS, and the Nagra hack was leaked by an insider in the company. These had nothing whatsoever to do with hobbyists.

It's interesting, this assumption by many that a system is always crackable and that the hack will become public, available to the hobbyist . We don't make the same assumption about bank systems (why isn't the world awash with hobbyists "experimenting" with wafer cards for bank transactions?).

2old

 

[Channel Hopper]

Thats depressing indeed, but I have to make a ray or two of sunshine appear among the clouds

1) The number of channels is increasing.

Big broadcast providers have always been there, the smaller ones appear and then get either become big, get clobbered or get amalgamated into the larger ones

These are the saviours of hope as they will undoubtedly use a less secure system to start up (Showtime on 16 East for example)

2) The general number of language specific broadcasts also increases.

The type of programme content will be spread on more than one satellite. If its not on one then its almost certainly somewhere on a less secure or at least more equipment specific satellite (dish size, frequency, broadcast format etc etc).

If its up there the enthusiasts will be able to get it.

3) New ways of distribution

When has satellite ever been the only format, its on this site but then so is DTT and talk of PC Card evolution is not unheard of.

I believe within ten years or so choice wont be limited to TV by LNB alone, by then both the Internet and local distibution by phone mast networking will be rife enough to give those that want it the choice.




Its simply a hobby remember !

 

[nobbly]

Going back to what 2old said about hobbyists experimenting with wafer cards for bank transactions.

Not so long ago there was a story (if story is the right word as I saw it on the evening news)
On a french site were hex codes that you programmed into a goldwafer which would let you draw money out of the cash machines. They called this the "yes" card because when you asked for money the cash machine always said "yes"...

If it wasn't so illegal more people would be interested.


27/09/2001 Yescard functions always and better and better
Yescard (shows of bank card recognized by the terminals of payment as emanate from the banking authority) always function and the banks did not set up any countermeasure.

Moreover, As we indicated it 2 weeks ago , some hackers can use them to make purchases WITHOUT LIMITATION OF AMOUNT and with the costs of the card holders.
Indeed, the key OF the 56 bits decorating the charts emitted in 1999 was broken, That constitutes a small prowess. Hackers have indeed at their disposal of the very powerful material.

Taken from http://www.parodie.com/monetique/ translated by google

nobbly

 

[wolsty]

The world may not be awash with hobbyists trying to crack bank smartcards but, if you believe only half of what you read, the world is certainly awash with bandits hacking bank accounts and transferring funds illegally. I know one person ( I hasten to add that he is not a friend) who did time for precisely this offence and all he had was a pc, a modem and a 'phone line.

Nevertheless, I tend to agree with 2Old about the golden age being over. Life will certainly become more difficult for the hobbyist, but not, I suspect, impossible. However the hacks for Viaccess, Seca and Nagra were found and distributed, there's no obvious reason why such procedures won't be repeated. There's potentially a huge demand for hacks from people who've spent a lot of money on satellite systems and aren't about to take them down to the car boot sale yet. Loss of channels will undoubtedly focus the mind of the hobbyist.

And after all, there's nothing like a challenge. The number of hobbyists is increasing all the time; they network more and more effectively and computing power, even on home pc's, is doubling every 18 months. I'm optimistic that the hacking fraternity, which is not known for its inclination to give up at the first sign of difficulty, will overcome this temporary little problem before too long.

And as for code being uncrackable, I'd need a lot more evidence before I agree to that contention. As I understand it, every code is decipherable given enough computer power. It may take 10 Crays a million years to do it on a brute force basis, but cryptanalysts have other and subtler techniques, which are continually evolving, and which yield results in a much shorter time. If I were a betting man, I'd put money on a public hack for one of the major encryption systems becoming available before the end of 2003.

We live in interesting times.

wolsty

 

[2old4this]

oh go on then. Twenty quid says they won't.
The only bet I ever hope to lose.
2old

 

[wolsty]

I'm not a betting man, but in this case, I'll make an exception. £20.00 it is!

wolsty