Irdeto buys Philips white-box cryptography

Irdeto has acquired a full suite of white-box cryptology patents, patent applications and software from Philips Electronics. The move significantly boosts the IP portfolio around the Irdeto Cloakware solution.

According to the company, white-box cryptography is emerging as a key technology to combat hacking and intellectual property theft in unsecure, untrusted environments, a common problem for PCs, set-top boxes and other devices that use DRM and conditional access applications.

“This acquisition allows us to even further bolster Irdeto Cloakware’s considerable IP portfolio, boosting our current white-box IP portfolio to the benefit of our customers,” said Graham Kill, CEO of Irdeto. “It demonstrates Irdeto’s continued dedication to and investment in software security, reinforcing its lead in innovation and ensuring our customers are protected to the highest level.”

Irdeto acquired Cloakware itself in December 2007 in a $72.5 million transaction. Its customers include Texas Instruments, Pioneer Electronics, and Vodafone.