The owner of a California-based company that sells FTA satellite receivers has been arrested on charges that he attempted to hire computer hackers to try & break the Nagravision 3 encryption scheme used to protect Dish Network's satellite programming signals.

The owner of Viewtech, Inc. was charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DCMA) in the U.S. District Court in San Diego. If convicted he can face up to 5 years in prison & a $250,000 fine.

According to indictment papers, Viewtech imports FTA receivers & resells them under the name Viewsat via a network of retailers. A USB port on the satellite receivers allows owners to get & update codes for unscrambling signals simply by connecting their devices online. The relative ease with which the boxes can be modified for illegal use is a factor that has resulted in the sale of "millions" of Viewsat FTA boxes.

Viewtech is also accused of hiring hackers to hack the Nagravision 3 encryption. Last year Black hat hacker Christopher Tarnovsky revealed how he hacked Nagravision smartcards, using dissecting techniques.

Read more about this on Computerworld.com.

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