Downloadable Conditional Access System

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Downloadable Conditional Access System or DCAS defines a standard for secure software download of a specific Conditional Access client (computer program) which controls Digital Rights Management (DRM) into a OCAP-compliant host consumer media device.

The U.S. cable television industry is developing a hardware/software specification called OCAP, the OpenCable Application Platform, which will incorporate standard APIs directly into host media devices, thus turning them into small computers. DCAS is a component that will eliminate the need for physical set-top boxes or CableCARDs currently required to protect encrypted digital content. OCAP will enable cable companies to write not only security software, but user applications (interactive games, video on demand systems, etc.) that will run on any OCAP-branded hardware. All OCAP-enabled devices will be capable of two-way communication.

The basic purpose of DCAS is to implement DRM protection in software, supported by future OCAP-compliant consumer devices such as digital televisions, DVRs, and set-top boxes (still required to support legacy non-OCAP-compliant devices). This secures the information transmitted in the link between the cable company and the consumer device. The subsequent digital link between the device and its external display (if any) would be protected by something such as the existing HDCP encryption standard.

According to Brian Dietz of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA):

...we expect downloadable security to be supported nationwide by MSOs by July 2008.

DCAS provides greater security for the cable industry because it allows them to change their entire security structure by downloading new software into host devices. If a particular encryption algorithm is cracked, it can be replaced by another one. Additionally, OCAP-based devices may incorporate internal support for a kind of "smart card" (similar to the current SIM chip in a GSM cell-phone) to identify the subscriber and provide further protection.