A method for authenticating components in an architecture for providing a protected media path along a chain of components from a content source to a rendering hardware, the method comprising: establishing one or more paths of components that are to process and render digital data, individual components supporting one or more of an authenticate interface and an authentication proxy interface, wherein the components are software and hardware components and wherein an interface is a logical portion of a component and comprises a collection of callable methods that can be called by other components and wherein the authentication proxy interface acts as an interface to a forwarding service to another authenticable interface; creating a first authenticator to authenticate individual components of the one or more paths, wherein authenticators are used to authenticate the chain of components of the protected media path that will handle protected data; calling, with the first authenticator, one or more authenticable interfaces on one or more respective components to ascertain components downstream from the components that are called; authenticating one or more downstream components using the first authenticator; for those components that support an authentication proxy interface and an authentication interface, creating a separate authenticator to authenticate components along the one or more paths, wherein the first created authenticator verifies a second created authenticator; establishing by the authenticators an encrypted channel between the first authenticator and one or more of the separate authenticators (320, 322), wherein the authenticators communicate through the encrypted channel; using one or more of the authentication proxy interfaces to authenticate between authenticated components linked together by unauthenticated components; and authenticating additional components using the separate authenticator. establishing one or more paths of components that are to process and render digital data, individual components supporting one or more of an authenticate interface and an authentication proxy interface, wherein the components are software and hardware components and wherein an interface is a logical portion of a component and comprises a collection of callable methods that can be called by other components and wherein the authentication proxy interface acts as an interface to a forwarding service to another authenticable interface; creating a first authenticator to authenticate individual components of the one or more paths, wherein authenticators are used to authenticate the chain of components of the protected media path that will handle protected data; calling, with the first authenticator, one or more authenticable interfaces on one or more respective components to ascertain components downstream from the components that are called; authenticating one or more downstream components using the first authenticator; for those components that support an authentication proxy interface and an authentication interface, creating a separate authenticator to authenticate components along the one or more paths, wherein the first created authenticator verifies a second created authenticator; establishing by the authenticators an encrypted channel between the first authenticator and one or more of the separate authenticators (320, 322), wherein the authenticators communicate through the encrypted channel; using one or more of the authentication proxy interfaces to authenticate between authenticated components linked together by unauthenticated components; and authenticating additional components using the separate authenticator.