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hbgator

Wed 25 Oct, 2006


Hacker unlocks Apple music download protection

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A hacker who as a teen cracked the encryption on DVDs has found a way to unlock the code that prevents iPod users from playing songs from download music stores other than Apple Computer Inc.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>'s iTunes,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> his company said on Tuesday.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>
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Jon Lech Johansen,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> a 22-year-old Norway native who lives in San Francisco,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> cracked Apple's FairPlay copy-protection technology,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> said Monique Farantzos,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> managing director at DoubleTwist,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> the company that plans to license the code to businesses.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>
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<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>"What he did was basically reverse-engineer FairPlay,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>"<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> she said.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> <b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>"This allows other companies to offer content for the iPod.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>"<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>
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At the moment,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> Apple aims to keep music bought from its iTunes online music store only available for Apple products,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> while songs bought from other online stores typically do not work on iPods.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>
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But Johansen's technology could help rivals sell competing products that play music from iTunes and offer songs for download that work on iPods as they seek to take a bite out of Apple's dominance of digital music.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>
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ITunes commands an 88 percent share of legal song downloads in the United States,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> while the iPod dominates digital music player sales with more than 60 percent of the market.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>
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Cupertino,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> California-based Apple,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> whose profits have soared in recent years on the strength of the iPod,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> declined to comment.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>
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Johansen,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> known as DVD Jon,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> gained fame when at the age of 15 he wrote and distributed a program that cracked the encryption codes on DVDs.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> This allowed DVDs to be copied and played back on any device.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>
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His latest feat could help companies such as Microsoft Corp.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> Nokia,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> Sony Ericsson and Samsung Electronics Co.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> Ltd.<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b>,<b style="color:#FFA34F"></b> which have all announced plans over the past few months for music download services combined with new devices to challenge Apple