DRM SECURITY SYSTEMS - CODE CRACKS, KEY ISSUES & FLAWS

This page contains information on security issues, vulnerabilities, flaws, hacks and cracks in DRM (Digital Rights Management) software systems and hardware product solutions.




Apple's Fair Play DRM Cracked for epub ebooks - February 2012

It is now possible to remove the DRM from epub ebooks bought in Apple's iBooks store. 'Brahms' has recently released a new version, 3.3, of his Requiem software, which has been able to remove DRM from music and videos bought in the iTunes Music Store for a long time. This new version can also remove the DRM from Apple's epub format ebooks.


Intel HDCP copy protection encryption protocol broken - December 2011

German researchers have cracked Intel's encryption protocol using a man-in-the-middle attack, capturing the encrypted data streams, decrypting them using a $200 piece of hardware, and then sending the decrypted output to another device.


Kindles new KPR DRM files broken - September 2011

Scripts have been released that can remove the DRM from a number of ebook formats, including the new Kindle KPR format, Nook, Mobipocket, eReader (the really old format), Epub, and PDF. The Kindle KPR format is a PDF file wrapped in a different file format.


ebook DRM broken with SnowBreeze - February 2011

SnowBreeze is a jailbreak app for the iPhone that also enables users to open and read DRM protected ibooks using the ibooks app without purchasing them.


Anti DRM plug-in tools crack ebook DRM - January 2011

The Calibre ebook management system has had its DRM cracked by allowing plug-ins to be loaded to circumvent the DRM. It is well published that the use of plug-ins are insecure so you have to wonder why they have been allowed to load in the first place.


Windows Phone 7 DRM cracked hours after its release - December 2010

Microsoft has been the latest victim of an attack on their DRM for Windows Phone 7. App piracy however has been a mounting problem on smartphones, even with copy protection in place.  Android has been affected so badly by piracy that developers have argued that it's impossible to sell paid apps on Google's OS due both to a lack of effective protection and the ease of developing cracks.  Apple's DRM has been readily broken for the iPhone, iPod and iPad, and Mac App Store with support for jailbroken devices and an increased availability of cracked apps across the Web.


Microsoft DRM causes multiple security issues - September 2010

Microsoft's DRM Library (msnetobj.dll) is susceptible to three different types of attacks: denial of service, buffer overflow, and integer overflow. Users can be attacked when they visit a malicious web site enabling code to be run that takes control of your computer.


HDCP cracked: Intel DRM broken with master key crack - September 2010

Intel have had their DRM system for high definition video content cracked. A hacker has released a master key which renders the DRM protection unusable since it allows anyone to create their own source and sink keys to unprotect content.


Android DRM system cracked 1 month after release - August 2010

The DRM crack was made possible due to the licensing system's use of Java code. A number of products can decompile and disassemble Java code, making it an easy target for reverse engineering. After decompiling the code, cracking the licensing system is as simple as finding the file that references Google's licensing service and changing it to include a different set of instructions.


Ubisoft DRM system cracked within 24 hours - April 2010

The hack removes the DRM entirely and was issued in response to user backlash over having to be permanently connected to the Internet to play a game.


Amazon Kindle DRM cracked - December 2009

The DRM crack enables ebooks published in Amazon's proprietary format to be displayed on competing readers without any DRM controls.


Barnes and Noble EPUB DRM cracked - December 2009

The Barnes & Noble Desktop Reader application (BDReader) uses a modified Adobe Adept scheme, and stores decryption keys in plain text in a sqlite database, thus proving to be an easy attack.


BBC Guide to DRM cracking systems - August 2007

Covers DRM cracks for Windows Media, Apple FairPlay, AACS and CSS.


Microsoft Zune DRM cracked - July 2007

The Zune DRM Stripper/FairUse Commander lets you remove DRM from one file or a batch of files.


Windows Vista Content Protection & DRM cost analysis - June 2007

This paper analyses the true cost of DRM when employed at the OS level to protect content.  It covers the effectiveness of DRM when applied to protect video and audio content.


HD DVD and Blu-ray DRM scheme cracked - January 2007

The AACS (Advanced Access Content System) is a DRM system that replaced the weak Content Scrambling System, but less than a week after release it has been cracked.


Blu-Ray DRM cracked - January 2007

The copy protection technology used by Blu-ray discs has been cracked by the same hacker who broke the DRM technology of HD DVD discs. The hack sidesteps rather than defeats the AACS encryption. The approach relies on obtaining a particular movie's unique "key" and can't therefore be trivially replicated to rip content across all titles encoded via a particular format, as tools like DVD Decryptor make easy with standard DVD titles.


Windows Vista DRM cracked - January 2007

The crack allows protected video and audio content to be played without any DRM enforcement.


Apple's Fair Play DRM cracked again - August 2006


Windows Media DRM cracked - August 2006

The program, entitled FairUse4WM (Fair Use for Windows Media) requires that the user already owns media files that have been purchased before it will make them DRM free.