3 ms·

I would like to propose that DRM is not intended to be uncrackable. It's easy to convince yourself that DRM is flawed, because fundamentally it is a flawed too

I would like to propose that DRM is not intended to be uncrackable. It's easy to convince yourself that DRM is flawed, because fundamentally it is a flawed tool. Companies know this, they're not stupid. However, DRM is actually not a technical tool to prevent piracy. Rather, DRM is a legal tool to provide stronger legal arguments that theft has occurred. I'm not saying this is right, necessarily, but I think companies know full well that their DRM scheme will be broken, so it's not really worth investing in an "uncrackable" and costly solution. Instead, the role that DRM play is purely legal -- when the company does decide to go after someone for piracy, the DRM scheme, no matter how simple, provides them with the ability to say that the accused person "broke a lock," rather than simply walking in through an unlocked door. "Entering" vs. "breaking and entering." It's nothing but legal leverage, and effective at that role even if it's not a very strong lock. Of course, to have this argument hold, a company would never be able to admit that they purposefully implemented weak security -- this would be akin to admitting that their door was unlocked afterall, and would weaken their legal argument. Therefore, there remains a niche in the market for solutions that look secure even if they fundamentally aren't. It's all about lip service.

talmand 14y ago
In the US, the DMCA more or less makes it illegal to reverse-engineer DRM regardless of how easy it is to crack. The DRM could be as simple as the code being "A" to bypass the DRM and if you do so, you have broken the law. Even providing that "A" to someone else would be illegal, look at all the silliness over the dvd copy protection fiasco. Therefore, they don't even have to pretend that the DRM is strong, just saying it's there is probably enough. It's one reason printer cartridges have chips that communicate to the printer. Reverse-engineering that to provide third-party cartridges is illegal. Well, it used to be, I'm not sure over current policy as the DMCA has a back door for exceptions. For PC games, the DRM is often employed to prevent piracy for the first two or three weeks because typically that's the highest level of sales. After that point it is usually cracked but sales often have dipped anyway. In some cases the DRM is removed in a patch at some point, often because the DRM causes problems for people who paid for the game, which kills long-term sales. Ubisoft recently changed their policies on having a seriously strict DRM to one that is more flexible; many thinking because it hurt their sales and that it was useless anyway. No one thinks of DRM as a long term solution since it is only a matter of time before someone cracks it.
- stevewillows 14y ago
  Anyone can make a bump key, but breaking into people's houses is still a crime :)
  - talmand 14y ago
    Actually, if it were covered, the DMCA would make creating a bump key a crime in of itself. For instance, there was a time that simply linking to a DVD CSS descrambler could get you in legal trouble. But considering the wide spread availability of such things, they don't bother anymore.

talmand 14y ago

In the US, the DMCA more or less makes it illegal to reverse-engineer DRM regardless of how easy it is to crack. The DRM could be as simple as the code being "A" to bypass the DRM and if you do so, you have broken the law. Even providing that "A" to someone else would be illegal, look at all the silliness over the dvd copy protection fiasco. Therefore, they don't even have to pretend that the DRM is strong, just saying it's there is probably enough. It's one reason printer cartridges have chips that communicate to the printer. Reverse-engineering that to provide third-party cartridges is illegal. Well, it used to be, I'm not sure over current policy as the DMCA has a back door for exceptions. For PC games, the DRM is often employed to prevent piracy for the first two or three weeks because typically that's the highest level of sales. After that point it is usually cracked but sales often have dipped anyway. In some cases the DRM is removed in a patch at some point, often because the DRM causes problems for people who paid for the game, which kills long-term sales. Ubisoft recently changed their policies on having a seriously strict DRM to one that is more flexible; many thinking because it hurt their sales and that it was useless anyway. No one thinks of DRM as a long term solution since it is only a matter of time before someone cracks it.

stevewillows 14y ago
Anyone can make a bump key, but breaking into people's houses is still a crime :)
- talmand 14y ago
  Actually, if it were covered, the DMCA would make creating a bump key a crime in of itself. For instance, there was a time that simply linking to a DVD CSS descrambler could get you in legal trouble. But considering the wide spread availability of such things, they don't bother anymore.