The perils of delivering TV transmissions across the Internet were highlighted last weekend when Panorama - an early-morning Czech TV programme that shows Webcam scenes of beauty spots - was hacked.
The hackers interrupted the regular transmission with pictures of a nuclear explosion.
According to newswire reports, the hackers gained access to a system operated by a sub-contractor and Czech Television is aware of the people responsible.
The TV station says it has instructed its lawyers to take appropriate action against those involved.
Geoff Sweeney, CTO of behavioural analysis IT security software specialist Tier-3, said that this type of hacking demonstrates the high levels of security risk involved when transmitting information across the Internet.
"Internet-delivered broadcasts and Internet TV transmissions are still in their infancy, but this doesn't stop hackers from attacking weak points in the transmission infrastructure," he said.
"This is relatively new territory, both for the broadcasters and the hackers but the principles of good security practice still apply. Broadcasters need to look very carefully at their IT security systems to protect their system against these sorts of attacks which can only impact their transmissions and damage their reputations," he added.
According to Sweeney even though TV transmissions across the Internet are still very much in their infancy, he is confident that behavioural analysis technology, which doesnt require every risk to be defined in order to detect a threatening activity, could have protected the Czech TV network against inappropriate access in the first place.
"Behavioural analysis technology operates is future proof, it operates in real time and can lock down any unauthorised transmission like this, before they reach the viewer," he explained.
ABOUT TIER-3
Tier-3, with headquarters in Sydney, is the inventor of Behavioural Anomaly Detection (BAD) technology which is the cornerstone of the HUNTSMAN Threat Management System. HUNTSMAN enables enterprises to scale security management while, at the same time, improving its effectiveness by offering for the first time, insight into enterprise ICT infrastructure and real-time risk-based threat management. Tier-3s significant customer base includes government, financial institutions, major corporations, and organisations in the critical infrastructure and intelligence areas around the world.
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