[Captain Hook]

IKS ECM Explained
cp/
I guess we all know what the last smart card revision from the provider was all about. Some code was added to process "special" cmd08s where the card responds not with actual control words for video decryption, but bogus control words that contain the smart card's camid. The idea being that Echostar engineer's could have these bogus packets relayed back to them for account identification.

The only problem with this trick is that if two cams being used in an IKS setup to compare the control words for each cmd08, they can easily discover such 'bogus' packets and either ignore them or load the returning packet with a bogus camid and have Dish go on wild goose chases disabling valid subbed accounts and trying to extort $$$$ from perfectly innocent subbers through litigation. After identifying the 'supposed' camid being used in IKS, the provider would naturally send down a barrage of emms that would disable the offending cards.

This IKS ECM was only a partial success. It seems to have caused some freezing on some IKS systems and nothing on others. It would seem that the method used to identify IKS cam id's wasn't bulletproof. The provider probably disabled hundreds of cams in the field, but most were probably never used in any kind of IKS. Otherwise, if the provider's method was bulletproof, every single IKS cam would have been identified and disabled and every IKS service would be completely down. Instead, several are still up and others like nFusion were 'voluntarily' shut down to assess the situation because of some 'freezing'.

What does this all mean? Well, it means the provider is getting smarter but isn't quite there yet. Most IKS systems will be back up and running soon and no doubt the provider will try to fine-tune his method of disabling IKS cams through another cam revision. Eventually, the provider will get it right and be able to disable publically used IKS cams with a great deal of accuracy.
The future of public IKS through subbed cams is looking very bleak right now. Even private IKS can be knocked down with another card revision where the cam counts how many CMD08s are processed per 15 second interval and simply loops itself if too many are being processed like in a card-sharing enviroment.

The good news is that as the noose tightens on IKS technologies, the pirate community will no doubt focus more resources on non-invasive and invasive attacks on the cams themselves. Either the community will prevail and within 6 months N3 will be wide open, or if nothing is had, JJ Gee and his minions will (finally) declare victory against the pirates (after 15 years!) and promptly find themselves unemployed and standing in relief lines and soup kitchens all across the country.