AACS LA: High-Def DRM Compromised

Hackers are finding ways to circumvent the copy protection used in next-generation DVD formats, and the organization that licenses the technology has confirmed the issue. Certain title keys have been stolen, and are being used to grab data off the discs, it said.

Existence of a crack for the Advanced Access Content System (AACS) has been on the Web for several months, however it has not been confirmed that it was an actual hack. But the AACS Licensing Authority is attempting to dismiss the issue as minor.

"This development is limited to the compromise of specific implementations, and does not represent an attack on the AACS system itself, nor is it exclusive to any particular format," it said in a statement on its Web site Wednesday.

By having the title keys to certain discs, hackers would be able to strip the encryption from the discs and then copy the movie data within. However, with the large amount of data stored on high-definition discs, sometimes reaching 10 gigabytes or more, at this time large-scale copying would be impractical.

Officials with the organization said that the attack is not limited to either HD DVD or Blu-ray, and it would not rule out revoking the AACS license to those companies who may have not adequately protected the sensitive data.

"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," the organization said.

Late last month, a hacker who went by the handle "Muslix64" uploaded a video to YouTube showing a HD DVD video disc being cracked, using a program called BackupHDDVD. Earlier this week, he also reported success in cracking Blu-ray as well.

AACS LA's statement seems to indicate that his attempts may have indeed been successful.