Full security can add cost to a network, adds Gun, yet he believes a customer's perception of a network's security system is of greater concern. Full security will add some cost, but it won't be prohibitive. What worries me, besides the cost, is that if a smart card is needed for security, it gives the consumer the wrong message that the modem isn't secure without it. It raises the bar, and operators will probably mandate some sort of authentication feature with it. The mandate for vendors such as Broadcom Corp., a leading supplier of highly integrated, system-level silicon solutions, is to stay flexible when it comes to the security needs of its customers.
Security is what everyone wants more of.
But it can be costly and can slow down a process. The difference in speed, Quigley says, is the trade-off between the heavier security components in the more complex, full security systems such as SSI, and the simpler BPI Plus. The security-heavy functions slowed down the initial BPI system. They just didn't fit right and were ponderously slow. Quigley, who worked on the initial BPI system, is confident that BPI Plus, with its added security components, will emerge as a viable security system for cable modems.