Hong Kong Hackers bypass Microsoft copy protection

[R. A. Hettinga]

http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2821260,00.html


ZDNet Sites:  Reviews | Downloads | Tech Update | Prices 

 

Hackers bypass Microsoft copy protection

By Rupert Goodwins
ZDNet (UK)
October 30, 2001 10:30 AM PT

Hackers in Hong Kong are routinely breaking Microsoft's digital media
copyright protection system and helping themselves to broadband encrypted
content, including games, films and music videos, according to a report in
the South China Morning Post today.

The content is hosted on now.com.hk, which belongs to major Asian
broadcaster Network of the World, and is protected by Microsoft's digital
rights management software, DRM 2. The hackers are using FreeMe, a DRM 2
cracker developed by pseudonymous programmer "Beale Screamer" and recently
distributed across the Web following exposure on the U.S. security site
Cryptome.org.

FreeMe first appeared earlier this month, and this is believed to be the
first time it has been put into wide use.


Broadband observer Jimmy Lam Tin-yim told the newspaper that the hackers
were recording the encrypted streams onto disk and then breaking the
protection. He estimated that fewer than 500 people were accessing content
in this way, and pointed out that they had to be subscribers to the service
in order to get access in the first place.


DRM 2 is an integral part of Windows Media Player and Windows XP, and is a
lynchpin of Microsoft's approach to controlling the distribution of digital
media. Although FreeMe includes a comprehensive analysis of the flaw in DRM
2, the distribution of the cracking program also sends out an essay by the
author cogently explaining that the software was an act of protest and not
to be used for "massive copyright infringement."

He expects it to be used by people who have bought music or movies in order
to view the content as and when they like: The distribution even includes a
license to that effect.

Noting that other programs that demonstrate flaws in protection schemes
have led to their authors being arrested, Beale Screamer said, "I don't
intend on being a martyr, or on spending the next decade of my life
defending myself in legal proceedings."




-----------------
R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'



---------------------------------------------------------------------
The Cryptography Mailing List
Unsubscribe by sending "unsubscribe cryptography" to majordomo at wasabisystems.com