Hardware 2.0

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

SlySoft cracks Blu-ray BD+ encryption

By Adrian Kingsley-Hughes | March 19, 2008, 4:06pm PDT

Summary

SlySoft, the makers of AnyDVD HD, have released an updated version of the copy-protection removal tool which allows Blu-ray owners to back up their discs.

Topics

Blu-ray Disc, Crack, Encryption, SlySoft, Blu-ray BD+, Blu-Ray, Hd Dvd, DVD, Consumer Electronics, Security, Personal Technology, Home Entertainment, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

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[UPDATE 03/26/08 - Exercising its "Right to Reply" I have the following to share from Macrovision Corp, the company who currently owns the rights to BD+ technology:

“Macrovision does not comment on specific techniques or procedures that may directly impact the BD+ security technology. BD+ is a security response system designed to react to security attacks, not prevent them entirely. As part of this system, updated BD+ security code is continuously developed so that BD+ customers obtain ongoing value from the use of this technology.”

Eric Rodli, Executive Vice President & General Manager of Entertainment, Macrovision Corporation]

SlySoft, the makers of AnyDVD HD, have released an updated version of the copy-protection removal tool which allows Blu-ray owners to back up their discs.

Antigua, West Indies - March, 19th 2008

AnyDVD HD now with BD+ support

Film studios that have switched to Blu-ray may have crowed a little too early because the much-praised BD+ copy protection is an ad absurdum affair now, too. With today’s release of version 6.4.0.0 of AnyDVD HD it is now also possible to make backup security copies of Blu-ray discs protected with BD+.

BD+ is the DRM protocol used to protect Blu-ray discs. It’s a very sophisticated scheme that makes use of a small virtual machine environment to enforce compliance. BD+ was considered much harder to crack than the encryption used on HD DVD discs (which SlySoft cracked last year). In fact, faith in BD+ was so strong that Richard Doherty of Envisioneering Group was quoted in July of last year as saying:

BD+, unlike AACS which suffered a partial hack last year, won’t likely be breached for 10 years.

Can Blu-ray be tightened up following this crack? Sure. Even SlySoft admits that a future tweak to BD+ could put an end to this crack, although the company is optimistic that a a crack could be found.

Peer van Heuen, head of High-Definition technologies at SlySoft adds: “Admittedly, we are not really so fast with this because actually we had intended to publish this release already in December as promised. However, it was decided for strategic reasons to wait a bit for the outcome of the “format war” between HD DVD and Blu-ray. On top of that, we first wanted to see our assumptions confirmed about the in the meantime released BD+ titles regarding the BD+ Virtual Machine. We are rather proud to have brought back to earth the highly-praised and previously “unbreakable” BD+. However, we must also admit that the Blu-ray titles released up to now have not fully exploited the possibilities of BD+. Future releases will undoubtedly have a modified and more polished BD+ protection, but we are well prepared for this and await the coming developments rather relaxed”. Van Heuen adds jokingly: “The worst-case scenario then is our boss locks us up with only bread and water in the company dungeon for three months until we are successful again”.

In other news, the other day I picked up an LG GGW-H20L Super Multi Blu-ray writer / HD-ROM reader drive.

Thoughts?

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology.

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"BD+ won't be breached for 10 years"

Nothing like a challenge to get people moving. I wonder how those studios who went with Sony instead of Toshiba because of their "better" security feel now.
itpro_z

03/19/2008 04:41 PM
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Kinda like "Bring it on" - Doh!

(nt)
MisterMiester

03/20/2008 06:36 AM
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::snicker::

You gotta love Big Media and their obsession w/copy protection, don't you?

Just like Bush Rethuglicans and their insistence that "inconvenience + crushing of civil liberties = 'safety'"....
drprodny

03/20/2008 11:16 PM
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Couldn't happen to a better standard.

By Better I mean absolutely ridiculous in the contempt it has for consumers. I only hope that Sony et all enjoy the hundreds of millions they continue to throw down the drain developing the superspectangularwonderouslystupendingous DRM crap, driving their player prices up.

Eventually, they will learn that people want cheap players who's PRIMARY role is to just play the movie stupid.

I am heartened to see this crack, and the movie studios salivating over the above mentioned DRM will start to see the futility of it all. They aren't ready yet though, the NEXT version of DRM will do the trick, just you wait and see.

TripleII
TripleII

03/19/2008 05:10 PM
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I couldn't agree more... Blu-Ray is bad!

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. Not in that I didn't buy into HD DVD, but I didn't buy into either format. I would have preferred that HD DVD won, but the money was thrown at Blu-Ray so there was no chance. (Consumers didn't pick Blu-Ray, the execs did.)

I kinda wonder if the studios would have jumped on Blu-Ray so quickly if this crack had been released in December like it should have been. Makes you wonder doesn't it...
Narg

03/23/2008 08:15 PM
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Did the crack influence your decision?

Inquiring minds want to know.
John L. Ries

03/19/2008 05:22 PM
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Not mine.

Not mine. I won't be getting Blu-Ray until my local movie rental stops putting DVDs on the shelves. Even then, I'll probably be doing rentals online anyways.
CobraA1

03/19/2008 05:36 PM
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I'll wait until they lose the battle for good.

Throw in the towel, admit defeat, get back to an attitude that the customer means something (AKA Amazon MP3), they stop the $200 overhead for useless DRM software, and players that just work are sold for $75-$100.

It is amazing that they still operate under the assumption that consumers NEED them, they don't need us.

I would have been OK if HD-DVD reader/writer was included in a computer I bought (would not pay a premium) because it is fully usable in Linux (no links, not wanting to be deleted) without the required monitoring connection, but the technology doesn't thrill me, my upconvert DVD player works great.

It is a nice to have at the very best.

TripleII
TripleII

03/19/2008 06:03 PM
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ZDNet Blogger

No ...

... my components "dealer" offered me a really good deal.

Can't say I'm not happy though!
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

03/20/2008 04:13 AM
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RE: SlySoft cracks Blu-ray BD encryption

pretty sure I've seen software out there that has already cracked BD+...same people that make DVD-Decrypter think...I'm probably wrong but I was pretty sure this had already happened about 9 months ago..
NamelessFor Now

03/20/2008 06:15 AM
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Secondary anti-consumer offering

I share the delight that SlySoft gives the disc owner the ability to put the content we purchased on our hard drives and congratulate them on their work.

However the studios still make it more expensive than necessary by using older MPEG2 compression rather than either of the other supported codecs. Typical movie files alone come in around 25G. Of course using a newer codec may mean that the movie would fit comfortably on a DVD9 at full 1080p. That would have made the whole HD-DVD/BluRay war moot, and we wouldn?t want to have missed that would we?
VersatileSimplicity

03/20/2008 08:38 AM
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RE: SlySoft cracks Blu-ray BD encryption

"we had intended to publish this release already in December as promised. However, it was decided for strategic reasons to wait"
I would not be surprised if the contacted Sony and
said "what does it worth to you if we wait a little
until the major studios decide and then come out with the
crack?"
Sony is not stupid b/c they know about the studios obsession with DRM
I'm sure that was a major part in their decision.
meatclone

03/20/2008 08:48 AM
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RE: SlySoft cracks Blu-ray BD encryption

Its great but Blu-ray will not be here 10 years from now.
Because electronic and software companies want to hook you and then move on.
Gottschalk

03/20/2008 09:26 AM
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RE: SlySoft cracks Blu-ray BD encryption

I am glad that this will end the lock out for backups, but it will never be enough to stop the spiral of security vs hack that a few pirates or thieves bring upon us, these sociopaths cause us all to pay a premium price that would be otherwise unnecessary.
morwen

03/20/2008 10:08 AM
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RE: SlySoft cracks Blu-ray BD encryption

If any division of the entertainment industry deserves this, it's the film industry. I know of no other sector that shows such utter contemp for its customers.

They release a DVD, then the 2 disc special, the the 2 disc special directors cut, then the 3 disc, extended "as the director intended it" edition. Then they'll release the 3 movie "trilogy" box set, 6 months before they release a 4th movie in the "trilogy" to make the boxset worthless.

Then they have the nerve to say it's the customer ripping them off when it all goes pear shaped. Good on yer Slysoft, kick em where it hurts and kick em often.
LeeC

03/20/2008 01:51 PM
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