Washington, D.C.
(January 18, 2007)
-- The group responsible for new HDTV DVD anti-piracy
software is investigating claims that the technology has
been hacked.
In recent days, hackers have posted free copies of HD-DVD titles using file-sharing technology. The development has industry officials concerned because it may allow film pirates to sell illegal copies of high-resolution DVDs.
While the hackers have allegedly only broken the code for the HD-DVD disc, the Blu-ray format could be in jeopardy as well.
"There are reports that indicate success by a number of hackers. We're still evaluating and determining what the most appropriate course of action is," Michael Ayers, chairman of the Advanced Access Content System, told the Associated Press. The AACS was created by several companies, including Microsoft and Disney, to safeguard the technology in new HDTV DVDs.
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Ayers tells AP that hackers may have found a hole in computer software that's used to view DVDs. But he expressed confidence that the industry can combat the attack.
"We look at it as an attack on one particular implementation," Ayers said. "It doesn't breach the security of the AACS technology as a whole, because that one implementation can be fixed. Once it's fixed, then that attack no longer works."
In recent days, hackers have posted free copies of HD-DVD titles using file-sharing technology. The development has industry officials concerned because it may allow film pirates to sell illegal copies of high-resolution DVDs.
While the hackers have allegedly only broken the code for the HD-DVD disc, the Blu-ray format could be in jeopardy as well.
"There are reports that indicate success by a number of hackers. We're still evaluating and determining what the most appropriate course of action is," Michael Ayers, chairman of the Advanced Access Content System, told the Associated Press. The AACS was created by several companies, including Microsoft and Disney, to safeguard the technology in new HDTV DVDs.
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
Ayers tells AP that hackers may have found a hole in computer software that's used to view DVDs. But he expressed confidence that the industry can combat the attack.
"We look at it as an attack on one particular implementation," Ayers said. "It doesn't breach the security of the AACS technology as a whole, because that one implementation can be fixed. Once it's fixed, then that attack no longer works."