A digital cable network architecture includes hosts that include a receiver with
a hash function generator that calculates hash values based on a hash function
and data from memory blocks in the receiver. A policy file store contains policy
files having a service provider section, a consumer section, and/or a manufacturer
section that can be updated by the service provider, a consumer and/or a receiver
manufacturer. A service provider downloads monitor applications (MAs) and policy
files to the hosts over the cable medium. The MAs access the service provider section,
the consumer section, and/or the manufacturer section of the policy file to alter
resource contention, service provisioning, and/or alter fraudulent receiver identification
calculations. The hash function of the receiver outputs the hash values to the
MA, which compares the hash values to expected hash values to identify fraudulent access.