Princeton's Professor Felten to present SDMI crack paper at Usenix on Wednesday
AFTER BEING QUELLED by the Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) organization and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) earlier this year, a research paper on how to crack digital music encryption is due to be presented at the Usenix Security Conference in Washington on Wednesday.
The controversial paper, written by Princeton University Professor Edward Felten and his research team, was previously withdrawn from another conference last April after Felten came under pressure from the SDMI and RIAA. The groups claimed that by presenting the findings, the team would be in violation of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)...
Scientists to detail controversial research
By Scarlet Pruitt
The DMCA states that it is illegal to provide technology that bypasses industry controls limiting how consumers can use music they have purchased.
Felten and his team filed suit in June against the SDMI, the RIAA, the U.S. Department of Justice, and Verance, a company that made one of the watermarks Felten's team cracked, requesting First Amendment protection to present the research without fear of reprisal.
While the suit is still under way and the defendants have filed a motion to dismiss, Felten and some members of his team are preparing to present their findings despite the fact that they could be held in violation of the DMCA.
Felten confirmed Monday that he will attend the Usenix conference, saying "it is normal for these types of papers to be presented, which discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the technologies."
"It is part of the scientific process," he added.
The scientific community will be closely watching how the conference and the team's lawsuit unfold, Felten said......continued....
