Follow the steps taken to crack a conditional access and scrambling system used in millions of TV set-top-boxes across North America. From circuit board to chemical decapsulation, optical ROM extraction, glitching, and reverse engineering custom hardware cryptographic features. This talk describes the techniques used to breach the security of satellite and cable TV systems that have remained secure after 15+ years in use.Topics include:The result is knowledge of the transport stream scrambling modes and knowledge of the conditional access system used to deliver keys. Strong and weak points are identified, advanced security features implemented nearly 20 years ago are compared to modern security designs. A softcam is designed and tested using free software, working for cable and satellite TV.Slides