HDCP Digital Video Encryption System crypto standard cracked says Niels
A Dutch cryptographer who claims to have broken Intel Corp.'s encryption system for digital video says he will not publish his results because he fears being prosecuted or sued under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Niels Ferguson announced last weekend that he has successfully defeated the High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection HDCP specification, an encryption and authentication system for the DVI interface used to connect digital cameras, high-definition televisions, cable boxes and video disks players...
Video crypto standard allegedly cracked
-- "An experienced IT person could recover the master key in two weeks given four standard PCs and fifty HDCP displays," said Ferguson. "The master key allows you to recover every other key in the system and lets you decrypt [HDCP video content], impersonate a device, or create new displays and start selling HDCP compatible devices." Ferguson, who announced his results at the Hackers At Large 2001 (HAL) security conference, is not providing details of how he defeated HDCP. But he says it is a textbook example of a cryptographic attack.
Intel spokesperson Daven Oswalt says the company has received several reports from people claiming that they have broken HDCP. But he says none have held up, and the company remains confident in the strength of the system.
"Intel believes that HDCP meets the intended goal of preventing the casual copying and distribution of entertainment content of DVI outputs," said Oswalt. He declined to comment on Ferguson's decision to withhold publication of his research.
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