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The hack: Programs have been written that save streaming Windows Media, RealMedia, and QuickTime media to disk. Streaming media is supposed to be broken only into small data packets, sent over the Internet, and then played back by the media player on the screen, never going on the hard disk.
However, it is a fairly straightforward exercise for an experienced programmer to write a program that takes the network packets that are sent, and assembles them into a file that can be stored on disk and played back later, as shown in Figure 7-2. This is analogous to a VCR that simply records a show on TV.
Figure 7-2: The user can run a hack program that saves a streamed file to his hard disk.
SCENE 3
OPEN ON MICKEY AND EXECS IN BOARDROOM
A reduced number of EXECS sits in the board room listening to Mickey. Two of the execs are having a side conversation. Mickey has a laptop open on the table with some of the studio's movies on a website that says, VIDEO ON DEMAND. He is exasperated.
MICKEY
We need to license DRM. We need to use Microsoft's DRM. That way, users need a strong encryption key to watch the movie. Instead of streaming the file, they can download it; but, it's locked with DRM. So if they email it to their friend, their friend will have to pay for it too.
CUT TO: JOE AND JACK AT A STARBUCKS
Both Joe and Jack have laptops with wireless cards. Jack is drinking an ice blended drink with a straw and Joe is sipping a latte.
JOE
Jack, I wanted to tell you that I tried that movie you sent me, but it wouldn't play. I wrote down what it said...
JOE opens a day planner and opens it to a bookmarked page.
JOE
It said it was "downloading DRM components," and then it brought me to a website and wouldn't play unless I entered my credit card information. I thought you already paid for the movie. I don't understand why you can't just copy it over to my...
JACK
(interrupting)
I totally know what it is; they want everyone to pay for it individually. I'll download the crack for the latest DRM and send you the file. Hang tight.
JACK types busily.
JACK
(smiling)
Here ya go.
JOE clicks around slowly and methodically until a movie goes full screen on his computer and the opening sequence for THX sound starts to play.
JOE
Well, that's remarkable. I don't know how you do it!
Even though Jack sent Joe the downloaded movie file, Joe couldn't play it because the DRM system couldn't identify him as an authorized user (which of course he is not). As you will see later in the chapter, some DRM systems send two separate files: the media itself, locked, and a separate "key" file, which is sent after you have been authenticated as a paying customer. Originally, Jack sent Joe the content but not the key. However, because the key is now on the computer, a knowledgeable programmer can--with effort--extract the key.
The only thing preventing the key's use is "security by obscurity." This is analogous to putting a key to your house in a "hide-a-key" box or putting it under the mat. In this case, the key file is hidden in an obscure location on the user's hard disk. This works fine when the user doesn't know where the key is, but when the key location is discovered, the security is utterly defeated, as shown in Figure 7-3. Because everyone has the same encrypted copy of the media file, software can be written to allow anyone who gets the file to also play it using the pilfered key.
Figure 7-3: The subscriber runs hack software to find the hidden key file. He then shares the key with his friend, who can download and watch the media file without paying for it.
SCENE 4
INT. BOARDROOM MICKEY MEETING WITH EXECS.
MICKEY
We aren't getting the viewer numbers we wanted, and we think it may be due to content piracy. We've contracted a firm that creates special hardware that encrypts the movie on-the-fly. See, with the last version, there was one key for the movie, and once you cracked that key, anyone could open the video. With this new hardware, the movie is encrypted for that user and that machine only. It costs a bit more and requires more server hardware, but we think it will solve our piracy problems.
EXECS look blankly at MICKEY.
CUT TO: JACK IN HIS COMPUTER ROOM
JACK
I don't really know how to get it for you, Joe. They changed the encryption and it's got all this new third-party stuff... it's not Microsoft encryption anymore; it's some weird company I have never heard of. In any event, I can't find a crack for it in Google. Gimme a couple of days, though. I'll figure it out.
JACK hangs up and brings up google on his screen.
COMPUTER SCREEN
JACK types in various search terms on the screen. We see keywords being entered into google's search box. Jack types:
screen capture
A page of results comes up. No obvious winners. Jack continues to type:
VIDEO HACK
A page of results comes up. None seem interesting.
JACK types:
VIDEO HACK
SCREEN GRAB
DRM WORKAROUND
A page of results comes up, and Jack clicks a link half way down the page.
JACK'S ROOM - JACK'S FACE
JACK
(grinning, to himself)
Oh, here it is! Wow this is awesome.
We see a program installing, with Jack clicking NEXT, NEXT, NEXT. Finally, we see a movie playing full screen. Jack picks up the phone and dials.
INTERCUT JACK AT HIS COMPUTER/JOE IN HIS CAR ON HANDS FREE
JOE
(watching the road)
Hello, Jack.
JACK
Hey, Joe! I just found this awesome program. Basically, it emulates a video card, but it saves all the video directly to disk. It's totally cool! I think it will help with a lot of these movies. I'll send you the latest three after I watch 'em.
JOE
Well that's really thoughtful. Thanks for doing that again...
JACK
Oh, no biggie, I just downloaded the right program. There's this Linux hacker in Norway you should really be thanking.
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and in defeating DRM, the weakest link is the user's own machine. Even if the media player respects every restriction on the content being displayed, as soon as it leaves the player and is rendered to a screen, the DRM rights control chain can be broken.
Encrypting the content for each individual user prevents the problem of people sending content to each other because they can't just download an encryption crack from someone else -- the content was encrypted for their machine only, and the decryption keys are probably well hidden on their machine.
The way to get around all this complicated nonsense is simply to accept some content degradation, and capture the data after it leaves the well-encrypted DRM chain of the media player, as shown in Figure 7-4.
Figure 7-4: Hack software captures the media from the user's media player by pretending to be a real video card installed in the system, and then saves the video to the hard disk.
Even if the media player and Windows OS wise up to this hack and blacklist any video card that doesn't play ball with DRM, there's still a solution in the analog domain, called a VCR.
SCENE 5
INT. HIGHRISE BOARDROOM WITH EXECS
EXEC #1
Look, Mick, we're getting real tired of excuses.
EXEC #2
We've been pouring money into these online content trials for a year and a half now and you only have two thousand subscribers.
EXEC #1
I don't care if you say that broadband is a real market. Why can't you show us real subscriber numbers?
MICKEY
(coming on strong)
We think the low numbers are due to piracy. But there's a solution. Microsoft has been listening to it's customers and they've created a new security system that plugs some of the holes of the old system. The new Media player plays back only on video cards that have been approved by Microsoft, which means they have to enforce copy protection or they can't play back.
EXEC #3
Look. We've lobbied Congress through our standard channels to create a bill that allows us to crash the computers of these damned hackers. But until then, we don't want to put any more content out there if it's just going to get compromised.
EXEC #4
(to EXEC #3)
Dammmit, it's already illegal, and MPAAs on the case; there's just no market.
EXEC #2
Did you ever stop to think about the fact that I can go into any store and get a big screen TV for less than $1000, and it fills my whole wall? Or I can buy a gigahertz computer that I can barely get out of the store with before it's obsolete and has a little screen that nobody wants to watch anything on...
EXEC #1
Mick, we're seriously considering sticking to teasers and trailers online.
MICKEY
(considering his options)
All our studies show that there are 200 million broadband users out there. You all know I'm a big believer in broadband rollout and broadband customers are the future of entertainment consumption. They would be happy to pay $4 a movie if they knew they could get all the new releases. I honestly believe that 99 percent of our sales are cannibalized by file-sharing networks. If we can get the content protected, this can work.
EXEC #1
Mick, you don't have a lot of options here. We don't have a lot of options here. What we're going to do is...
INTERCUT JACK AT HIS COMPUTER/JOE IN LINE AT BANK
JACK
Yeah, it's actually really cool.
See, they did this thing to make it not play back with the vid card hack I used last time.
So first I'm thinking, what am I gonna have to do, point a video camera at the screen? And then I think, wow, that would actually work.
So I said, hell with it, and I popped in a tape and taped it. It's was a bit grainy, but it worked.
I had a DV camera so I thought about looping it back into the firewire port on the back but then the CPU couldn't handle playback and recording of DV because it's a different program, but the video capture card did it perfectly and then I--
JOE
Can you hold on a second? I'm up to the teller.
(to teller)
Yes I need to deposit these checks into the account ending in 3238, but the other ones are supposed to go in 4485.
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Created: March 27, 2003
Revised: May 24, 2004
URL: http://webreference.com/programming/xsltweb2/1
