Abstract: The present document describes a method for detecting a leak in an all-digital cable distribution network comprising a head station for transmitting content to subscribers using channels that are encoded using quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), the method comprising: injecting at the head station, through the cable distribution network and using a direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) transmitter, a DSSS signal of a frequency range not overlapping with an adjacent QAM channel; travelling the area where the cable distribution network is deployed, with a DSSS receiver tuned to the DSSS transmitter at the head station; and upon detecting, at the DSSS receiver, a DSSS signal leaking through the leak of the cable distribution network, determining the location of leak for repair, or generating a leakage event data package that may be transmitted or stored.