A member of the Doom9 Forum known only as "Divine Tao" claims to have defeated Microsoft  's Digital Rights Management (DRM) platform for securing the distribution of digital media files over the Internet. According to other Forum members who have already downloaded it, the new utility program for PCs running Windows XP and Vista not only works wonderfully but can even run on Microsoft's Zune player.
Divine Tao's exploitation of a chink in Microsoft's armor merely represents the latest clash between the software giant and members of the multimedia underground who believe they have the right to store archival copies of the copyrighted multimedia files they purchase in the event that their hard disks ever crash.
However, the same technology can also be used to illegally copy and distribute copyrighted programs for free. That potential for piracy is of grave concern to multimedia content vendors who depend on Microsoft's DRM platform to ensure that only those who pay for the privilege can download the multimedia files they offer.
Undermining Confidence
Though it is always dismaying when an attack occurs, the cracking of Microsoft's DRM platform is hardly the end of the world, according to one long-time Microsoft observer.
"Security overall is an ongoing battle and no one can ever declare total victory or relax their vigilance," Yankee Group research fellow Laura DiDio explained. In terms of their numbers and the time they can devote, there are more hackers than a security team even as large as Microsoft's can deal with, she continued.
"It's just a fact of 21st century computer life, because nothing is hack-proof," said DiDio. "Microsoft just has to address the issue as fast as they can."
Growing Importance
"It's been a real cat and mouse game of late" between the hackers and Microsoft "and it's enough to give companies cause for pause," noted Jim Murphy, research director for content management at AMR Research.
"Enterprises are deciding right now which DRM approach they will take" for securing their documents and intellectual property, Murphy explained. But given that so many of them have already made an investment in Windows -- "and Office remains their lingua franca" -- coming to terms with Microsoft's DRM platform "is all but unavoidable in one way or another," Murphy said. (continued...)
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