High-Def DVD security code breached; movie industry fears it may promote piracy
Copyrighted content on High-Definition DVD may be available for illegal copying despite the supposedly ‘bullet-proof’ encryption code that goes with it. A hacker known only as Muslix64 posted details showing how to crack the Advanced Access Content System on HD DVDs. The AACS is meant to restrict new HD DVDs from playing only on some devices in order to prevent piracy.
The Doom9 Forum user explained how he decrypted some titles after getting past the security code. He also made a Java-based program called BackupHDDVD and a video that he posted on YouTube to show how anyone can crack the AACS code.
Hollywood studios and disconcerted makers of encryption code are now looking into the claim made by Muslix64. If true, the code decryption could mean a financial threat to movie studios Warner Bros, Universal Studios and Walt Disney, among others. DVD sales accounted for $24 billion of the movie industry’s revenues for last year.