A vehicle information system suitable for installation aboard a passenger vehicle, comprising: a content source; and a distribution system for communicating with said content source and including a security appliance disposed within a single line replaceable unit for installation within the distribution system, the security appliance comprising: a general purpose computer for running an operating system configured to programmatically execute a plurality of software modules and to interface with a plurality of access points within the distribution system, wherein said plurality of software modules provides a plurality of security functions including at least two of: an antivirus module, a security log module, a payment processing module, a firewall module, a hardware security module, an intrusion detection/prevention module, and a network interface module; and a hardware security module; wherein the vehicle information system is configured to receive inbound data traffic and determine whether the inbound data traffic includes a request for encryption or decryption key information prior to provide the request to the hardware security module; the hardware security module configured to respond to the request by providing the requested encryption or decryption key information to the vehicle information system; and wherein the vehicle information system configured to provide the requested encryption or decryption key information to a third-party application for encrypting and/or decrypting the inbound data traffic. a content source; and a distribution system for communicating with said content source and including a security appliance disposed within a single line replaceable unit for installation within the distribution system, the security appliance comprising: a general purpose computer for running an operating system configured to programmatically execute a plurality of software modules and to interface with a plurality of access points within the distribution system, wherein said plurality of software modules provides a plurality of security functions including at least two of: an antivirus module, a security log module, a payment processing module, a firewall module, a hardware security module, an intrusion detection/prevention module, and a network interface module; and a hardware security module; wherein the vehicle information system is configured to receive inbound data traffic and determine whether the inbound data traffic includes a request for encryption or decryption key information prior to provide the request to the hardware security module; the hardware security module configured to respond to the request by providing the requested encryption or decryption key information to the vehicle information system; and wherein the vehicle information system configured to provide the requested encryption or decryption key information to a third-party application for encrypting and/or decrypting the inbound data traffic. a general purpose computer for running an operating system configured to programmatically execute a plurality of software modules and to interface with a plurality of access points within the distribution system, wherein said plurality of software modules provides a plurality of security functions including at least two of: an antivirus module, a security log module, a payment processing module, a firewall module, a hardware security module, an intrusion detection/prevention module, and a network interface module; and a hardware security module; wherein the vehicle information system is configured to receive inbound data traffic and determine whether the inbound data traffic includes a request for encryption or decryption key information prior to provide the request to the hardware security module; the hardware security module configured to respond to the request by providing the requested encryption or decryption key information to the vehicle information system; and wherein the vehicle information system configured to provide the requested encryption or decryption key information to a third-party application for encrypting and/or decrypting the inbound data traffic.