[Infowarrior] - Companies probe possible high-def DVD hack

[Richard Forno]

Companies probe possible high-def DVD hack
Hacker posts details of how he unlocked the encryption that prevents
high-definition discs from illegal copying.
By Reuters
Published: December 28, 2006, 7:55 PM PST
http://news.com.com/Companies+probe+possible+high-def+DVD+hack/2100-1029_3-6
146267.html?tag=nefd.top

The companies behind an encryption system for high-definition DVDs are
looking into a hacker's claim that he has cracked the code protecting the
new discs from piracy, a spokesman for one of the companies said Thursday.

A hacker known as Muslix64 posted on the Internet details of how he unlocked
the encryption, known as the Advanced Access Content System, which prevents
high-definition discs from illegal copying by restricting which devices can
play them.

The AACS system was developed by companies including Walt Disney, Intel,
Microsoft, Toshiba and Sony to protect high-definition formats, including
Toshiba's HD DVD and Sony's Blu-ray.

Muslix64 posted a video and decryption codes showing how to copy several
films, including Warner Bros' Full Metal Jacket and Universal Studios' Van
Helsing, on a popular hacker Internet blog and a video-sharing site.

The hacker also promised to post more source code on Tuesday that will allow
users to copy a wider range of titles.

A spokesman for one of the AACS companies, who declined to have the company
identified, said they were aware of it and were looking into the claims, but
would not elaborate.

The vulnerability could pose a threat to movie studios looking for ways to
boost revenue as sales of standard-format DVDs flatten. In 2005, U.S. DVD
sales generated some $24 billion for the movie industry.

If the encryption code has been cracked, then any high-definition DVD
released up to now can be illegally copied using the Muslix64 "key,"
according to technology experts.

Jeff Moss, organizer of Defcon, the world's largest hacking convention, said
in an interview that Muslix64 appears to have found a real breach in the
encryption system.

"Everybody is talking like it worked, and apparently it's not that hard,"
said Moss, whose annual convention draws thousands of security researchers,
government workers and hackers. "This will be the first trial run of how
this (AACS) is going to work whenever a compromised player comes out."

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, a U.K.-based technology expert and author of
Internet blog PC Doctor, wrote in a Thursday posting on technology site
ZDNet.com that Muslix64's source code "seems genuine enough."

He said the hack would not necessarily make much of a difference in the
battle for supremacy between the new HD DVD and Blu-ray formats.

"What's interesting here is that while this hack might give HD DVD a
temporary advantage amongst enthusiasts who want to backup discs...in the
long run it won't give either format an advantage because both HD DVD and
Blu-ray use the now cracked AACS," he wrote.

Story Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.