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Hackers Hack High-Def Movies
The first pirated high definition movies are appearing on the Internet
following the successful hacking of the copyright protection system on HD DVD
discs.
Movies including Serenity, Superman Returns, King Kong and Mission
Impossible 3 among others have been hacked and are being distributed 
using the
BitTorrent client on Internet file-sharing sites. HD DVD uses a copyright
system, supported by Intel and Microsoft, called Advanced Access Content System (AACS) to prevent such copying but the
code was compromised in December by a hacker called Muslix64.
Since then, lists
of keys that allow users to decrypt the movie files have been appearing on
hacker sites.
This is a blow to the HD DVD alliance, though not a huge one, but it might result in some Hollywood
studios demanding more protection before opting to support the format. It's certainly good news for the Blu-ray camp.
It was only a matter of time,
however, before the AACS code was broken. The breach might now lead to the use of additional
codes to back-up AACS.
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