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5/18/07

New HD DVD, Blu-ray Disc Copy Protection Defeated Before Release

AnyDVD HD software stillborns latest AACS high-def protections one week before launch


Efforts that began in December 2006, and continued through February 2007, lead the way for the circumvention of the Advanced Access Content System (AACS) HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc copy-protection scheme.
It started with the discovery of individual encryption keys for specific movies titles that would allow the decryption and backup of the protected media. Continued efforts eventually uncovered the Processing Key, essentially a silver bullet that is able to defeat the copy protection of all HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc media currently on the market.
Advanced Access Content System Licensing Administration (AACS LA) acknowledged the effectiveness of the hack, but promised that it would soon patch up the hole in future releases. “AACS LA has confirmed that AACS Title Keys have appeared on public web sites without authorization,” read a statement from the AACS website. “AACS LA employs both technical and legal measures to deal with attacks such as this one, and AACS LA is using all appropriate remedies at its disposal to address the attack.“
Beginning May 22, which is most notably the release date of the Matrix trilogy on HD DVD, all high-definition titles will shipping with Media Key Block (MKB) v3 – a new encryption key version that would render the previously discovered Processing Key obsolete.
“If a set of device keys is compromised in a way that threatens the integrity of the system, an updated MKB can be provided by the AACS LA that will cause a product with the compromised set of device keys to calculate a different key than is computed by the remaining compliant products,” as found written in AACS documentation. “In this way, the compromised device keys are 'revoked' by the new MKB.”
However, it appears that the AACS’ updated copy protection measures have already been circumvented even before the new software’s official release. SlySoft, developers of a software used to defeat the copy protections of DVD, HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc, have revealed that its latest version of AnyDVD HD is able to sidestep the new MKB from the AACS.
According to posts in SlySoft's forums, the new AnyDVD HD version was successfully able to decrypt an early-shipped release of the Matrix trilogy. Judging from how the protection system works, the newly discovered exploit will also work with all upcoming software until the AACS LA implements yet another patch.
The original Processing Key, found in February, recently caused quite the stir. Attempts to censor a string of letters and numbers stirred Internet users to overwhelm Digg.com in the first well-documented Internet Riot, leading it and other websites to change their legal position on censorship.
Reference: Marcus Yam, dailytech

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