VeriSign adds cable modem authentication

VeriSign Inc. has added another security tool to its arsenal, announcing

on Monday a new cable modem authentication service that will allow manufacturers

to embed a digital certificate into modems' read-only memory.

Using the cable modem service, providers of products and services over

broadband networks will be able to authenticate users, the company said.

Broadband services are increasingly being pirated due to the relative

ease of cloning cable modems, according to the company. VeriSign claims

it is the only company to meet the security requirements set forth in the

Data Over Cable System Interface Specification (DOCSIS) standard adopted

by the CableLabs consortium, a cable industry association.

VeriSign is one of several companies that have been working to develop

standards for electronic signatures, which now carry the same legal weight

as on-paper signatures under the Electronic Signatures in Global and National

Commerce Act, or E-Sign Act, signed into law June 30.