AfterDawn: News

Media companies probing AACS hack

As we reported a few days ago, a hacker known as Muslix64 released a tool called BackupHDDVD to rip video content from several available HD DVD titles. He also provided a video that you can watch here of the tool in action, showing how it copies the files to a HDD which are then played back. Testing of the tool and keys provided show that it does actually work, although not "perfectly".

Whether or not this tool can actually be used to make a full backup, or if it will lead to such tools, the fact that any decryption has taken place is obviously worrying the media companies behind the Advanced Access Content System (AACS) copy protection. While making tools to decrypt AES encryption can be done, it is the decryption keys getting loose that worries the media companies more.



The AACS system was developed by companies including Walt Disney Co., Intel Corp., Microsoft Corp., Toshiba Corp. and Sony Corp. to protect optical disc formats made specifically for HD content, including Toshiba's HD DVD and Sony's Blu-Ray. A spokesman for one of the AACS companies (didn't identify the company) said that it was aware of the developments and was looking into it.

Jeff Moss, organizer of Defcon, the world's largest hacking convention said that it appears Muslix64 has found a real breach in the system. "Everybody is talking like it worked, and apparently it's not that hard," he said. "This will be the first trial run of how this (AACS) is going to work whenever a compromised player comes out."

AACS is also used to protect content stored on Sony's Blu-ray format.

Source:
Reuters

Written by: James Delahunty @ 1 Jan 2007 4:22

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• 7 comments

• cleverick

  given time, anything is breakable even a man's will.

  1.1.2007 04:29 #1

• limelight

  I wish the hacker would have waited a bit before releasing the backup tool. It would have been nice to see the confidence of the AACS for a while, then shattered.
  
  Now im sure they will release new hddvd players with more copyright protection and even more crap that will get in the way of consumers' needs.

  1.1.2007 05:53 #2

• georgeluv

  although this is pretty sweet, you dont need a compromised player to play a 1080p rip, all you need is a computer with component output and a tv with the ability to play 1080p over component (or a nice big computer screen).
  
  did the people behind the new 1080p rollout realy think they could be that greedy? forcing everyone to buy new tvs and new video cards and new computer screens, everyone could see it was a joke a mile away. i hope hd dvds flop.

  1.1.2007 08:32 #3

• ZippyDSM

  georgeluv
  and we stil have a glut of crapy griny LCD and other digital TVs they have to do soemthign to make upfor past mistakes *rolls eyes*

  1.1.2007 09:15 #4

• wazzat

  Let's hope the present BluRay technology and all future Sony encryption technology is compromised. Buy the way, when I was shopping for a reasonable automobile cd/mp3/input player, the local retailer stated SONY bought Pioneer and a couple other manufacturers and now they've reduced the quality for crappy Walmart retailing. Not that Pioneer was that great to begin with.

  7.1.2007 03:16 #5

• ZippyDSM

  wazzat
  nothing like buying out your competition then going to china and shop for a manufacture then slapping your bran on it and doubling the ceos pay...all in a bad days work.....

  7.1.2007 05:31 #6

• xhardc0re

  if it took muslix64 that long to cr*ck AACS i wonder how long it took the NSA to cr*ck it? with all their super computers & other fancy gizmos from Buck Rogers sci-fi. I can imagine the main programmers behind AACS are going to have their a$$e$ pwned by some media companies by releasing yet again, a weak and stupid DRM scheme that nobody wants. i LOL @ AACS

  28.1.2007 02:04 #7