The blogosphere is alive with the songs of BD+ being hacked by Slysoft. This noncommital note from Engadget's Darren Murph is an example of reasonable "wait and see." Others are more enthusiastic about Slysoft's comments, for example this posting on CDFreaks.com, which quotes Slysoft as follows:
To prove them right and to take on the challenge, SlySoft has just released the latest AnyDVD version which beats the latest 4th generation HD-DVD and BluRay copy protection MKBv4, which was expected to be unbreakable.
All that AACS-LA has to offer now is BD+, but even that is on the verge of being circumvented and a release is expected by the end of this year.
James Wong, Head of development at SlySoft: "We already found a way to crack BD+ and we have just turned to fine-tuning. I should really think about hiring a bodyguard now, since this product won't please everybody."
There are a couple of things wrong with this. First, if they have cracked the AACS Media Key Block, no one expected this to be unbreakable. Rather, AACS was created as a renewable key management technology. So the MKB will be changed as planned.
More serious, perhaps, is that AACS-LA (the licensing authority) has nothing to do with BD+. Instead, BD+ is made available through its own, distinct licensing authority, BD+ Technologies LLC.
Even if it has been hacked, BD+ was designed to provide programmable security which includes the ability to detect compromised players. So we'll see if Slysoft can deliver on its claims.
