AACS LA to go after HD hackers

Los Angeles (CA) - Following a wave of claims that the AACS content protection system in Blu-ray and HD DVD high definition media has been cracked, the organization behind the technology said that it will use "both technical and legal measures to deal with attacks".

In a first response to forum posts and media reports, the AACS LA confirmed that valid AACS Title Keys have appeared on public websites, which, according to the organization, may have a limited impact on AACS at this time. Stating that there is an indication of an attack on "one or more players sold by AACS licensees," the AACS LA said that "this development is limited to the compromise of specific implementations, and does not represent an attack on the AACS system itself, nor is it exclusive to any particular format."

To avoid vulnerability of their players, the organization pressed AACS licensees "to follow the Compliance and Robustness Rules set forth in the AACS license." However, the AACS LA indicated that it will be taking steps to safeguard its technology : "AACS LA employs both technical and legal measures to deal with attacks such as this one, and AACS LA is using all appropriate remedies at its disposal to address the attack," a statement on the organization’s website reads.

The first successful attempt to crack AACS came in late December 2006 and was published as "BackupHDDVD" software.