Security and privacy requirements in interactive TV

Abstract

The paper focuses on security measures in the context of interactive TV (iTV), leaving out the field of social TV and concentrating on all two-way communication between user/viewer and infrastructure or content providers. It aims at introducing architecture for regulating all kinds of interactions and data streams within an iTV environment, including the different parties and their individual interests. By modeling this kind of organizational infrastructure, the authors follow the intention of finding best compromises between the partly opposing interests. While the user is in need of preserving his privacy, the scenario provider as well as the content provider together with the advertisers is dependent on valuable consumer information about content and general product information. In this respect, the proposed outline of the scenario considers all ways and directions of data flows, ranging from user information in the shape of TV content recommendations or tailored product information according to given consumption preferences up to all aspects of data protection. The latter appears highly important according to the different participants in the scenario, all having their own interests and thus forming heterogeneous relationships between the different single and corporate actors. The article emphasizes an alternate perspective on iTV compared to simple digital TV on the one and internet technology on the other hand. It gives a dense description of privacy concerns, economic interests, organizational necessities and approaches to programming solutions, presenting alongside the latest inventions and standards in terms of data protection features, e.g. operating with anonymized snapshots helping not only to hide the user's identity but also to create profile clusters. One of the main suggestions outlined here is to strengthen the consumer's role, thus accepting his dominant position in bringing iTV to success. The conclusion to be proposed lies in two key aspects: it is as well necessary to refer to the organizational structure as a model of interest relations as to combine the structure with innovative data protection mechanisms. Because the whole scenario deeply depends on trust and reputation, it is a need to put the user/viewer into control of the origins of data processing. This can only be achieved by a special kind of smartcard with far reaching impacts linked to the snapshot method. Furthermore, the authors give hints on how to enhance the attractiveness of the back channel in order to stimulate the data flow.