As we previously reported a few days, that a hack for DRM 3.0 was freel;y available on the net, Microsoft have now sent their legal arm into the fray, saying on on Monday that it will take any legal action it can against a an unidentified hacker who breached its antipiracy technology last week, enabling users to distribute songs without restrictions.
Microsoft group product manager Jonathan Usher told Reuters the damage to Microsoft's overall digital rights management software would be slight, although some music on the market had lost its protection.
"We learned about the hack on Friday and were on the phone with our content partners right away," he said. "We have built in a means to update the protections for cases such as this, and we're still implementing that renewability."
Last week's hack had compromised Windows Media audio version 7, which was released about 18 months ago, Usher said. "The majority of the content is protected with earlier versions of the DRM," he added.
Usher said Microsoft's content partners had been very understanding. "We have been forthright that no technology and no DRM is 100 percent secure," he said, adding that Microsoft has anticipated hacks such as this.
Users must first purchase a CD in order to exploit the hacker's software, he said. If they have access to the Screamer software, they could then strip off the locks on the purchased CD and distribute the songs without restrictions.
News source: Reuters
