Whether we speak of SDMI (Secure Digital Music Initiative), CSS (Content Scrambling System) or SunnComm’s MediaMax, copy-protection technology has suffered a series of embarrassing setbacks. So much to the point when a typical file-trader is presented with the news that Macrovision has implemented a new protection technology, the event is usually met with cynicism.
And why not, copy protection rarely works. When it does, the protection provided is very weak, to the extent that a 15 year old could probably defeat it. Wait a tic…
Our story begins in 1999, when a 15-year-old Norwegian programmer named Jon Lech Johansen defeated the DVD copy protection scheme dubbed CSS (Content Scrambling System.) At the time, no media player existed for Linux machines. The small program that Jon created ripped the large VOB file contained on the DVD, by-passing the CSS protection. The program found its way online, and became known as DeCSS. To this day, it remains one of the foremost decrypting engines in the DVD copying market.
Defeating CSS took considerable knowledge and effort. Surely four years of research and effort led to considerable advancement in copy protecion technology to avoid an embarrassing repeat. Just do not tell that to the folks at SunnComm.
SunnComm’s is one of the leading companies in the United States that provide technology to protect CD’s from unauthorized duplication. The flagship of SunnComm’s CD protection suite was MediaMax CD-3. The scheme appeared to be effective, as large music lables such as BMG began adapting the technology.
However on October 16, 2003 John Halderman, a Princeton University student wrote an article that explained and exploited the weakness of MediaMax CD-3. Amazingly the technique used to defeat MediaMax CD-3 was so simplistic, it surprised nearly everyone. By pressing the “Shift” key while loading a CD (and disabling auto-run), MediaMax CD-3 did not function.
Read the complete story @ Slyck
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- Is Copy Protection Dead on Arrival?
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