Self-Protecting Digital Content Adds Significant Value to
Anti-Piracy Scheme for Next-Generation DVDs
SAN
FRANCISCO, May 4 /PRNewswire/ -- As Hollywood movie studios and consumer
electronics manufacturers consider how to protect high-definition video
entertainment from piracy, Cryptography Research, Inc. (CRI) announced the
results of a study released today by Independent Security Evaluators (ISE)
evaluating the security technologies proposed for securing the HD DVD and
Blu-ray formats. The report's primary conclusion affirms that CRI's
Self-Protecting Digital Content (SPDC) technology complements the AACS key
management method under development by the Advanced Access Content System
Licensing Authority (AACSLA) by providing critical format security needs not
addressed by AACS alone.
"We have
evaluated the SPDC architecture and believe it addresses critical security needs
that cannot be addressed by cryptographic methods such as AACS alone," said Avi
Rubin, ISE founder and Professor of Computer Science and technical director of
the Information Security Institute at Johns Hopkins University. "Perfect
security is unattainable, but by giving formats a way to renew security, SPDC
can help correct security flaws and avoid permanently uncontrollable piracy or
the need to revoke innocent customers' players. Our researchers studied SPDC, and we believe the approach is sound and effective."
The SPDC
technology allows each disc to carry security software that secures its own
playback. This makes it possible for studios to address security problems by
updating or renewing the security methods employed with each new content
release. AACS provides methods for encrypting high-definition movies on
high-definition formats, and offers a revocation system that can disable players
which the AACSLA determines have been compromised, but does not provide
renewable security. SPDC and AACS are both being considered by the DVD Forum and
the Blu-ray Disc Association, which are currently developing the HD DVD and
Blu-ray formats. The DVD Forum has created subcommittees to study the integration of the AACS and SPDC technologies into the HD DVD format.
"We are
pleased that ISE has confirmed the value of our technology," said Kit Rodgers,
vice president of licensing at Cryptography Research. "SPDC provides security
that is far more effective and consumer-friendly than any other approach. We
believe that formats which choose to include our technology will have a much better likelihood of succeeding over the long term."
The report can be downloaded from ISE's website at this adress (PDF).
AACS
Advanced
Access Content System Licensing Administrator (AACSLA) is a group of companies
who have proposed a specification (AACS) for encryption and key management of digital content stored on next generation optical media formats.
For additional information including draft specifications, visit here.
About SPDC
With
CRI's Self-Protecting Digital Content architecture, each media disc carries
encrypted content and its own decoding software. This software runs in a simple
security interpreter in each player and can query the playback environment to
detect and respond to attacks by pirates. If a particular disc, device or
product line is compromised, subsequent titles can carry fresh security code
that can address the specific attack without affecting the end-user experience.
The SPDC architecture is designed to enable studios to use risk management
approaches to secure their high-definition content portfolios and minimize piracy's effect on their business.
About Independent Security Evaluators
Independent Security Evaluators (ISE) performs objective
technical evaluations that are independent of any ties to vendors and special
interests. The ISE team includes computer scientists, electrical engineers, and
cryptographers. ISE experts have testified before the US Congress, served as
expert witnesses, participated in creating standards, and evaluated systems for
both government and private industry. ISE researchers have also published
several influential books and dozens of scientific papers in the top refereed
conferences and journals. They have also analyzed and helped repair several
widely used commercial systems. ISE was formed in 2004 to offer this expertise
to the private sector. For additional information please visit here or call 443-270-2296. ISE was commissioned by CRI to conduct an
independent and objective study. Except for this evaluation, there are no other
commercial links between the companies and the content of the evaluation report
is solely the responsibility of ISE.
About Cryptography Research, Inc.
Cryptography Research, Inc. provides services and
technology to solve complex security problems. In addition to applied
engineering work, CRI is actively involved in long-term research in areas
including content protection, tamper resistance, network security and financial
services. Security systems designed by Cryptography Research engineers annually
protect more than $100 billion of commerce for wireless, telecommunications,
financial, digital television and Internet industries. For additional
information visithttp://www.cryptography.com.
SOURCE Cryptography Research, Inc.
Web Site: http://www.cryptography.com
Source: PR NewsWire
