Microsoft and Fraunhofer using DRM to attack Open Source operating systems

Microsoft and Fraunhofer attempt to use DRM against Open Source
operating systems:

Whitepaper: Interoperability Digital Rights Management and the Web
http://www.fokus.fraunhofer.de/en/fokus/_pdfs/Interoperability_Digital_Rights_Management_and_the_Web.pdf

>From that "whitepaper":

"CDM interoperability can take three forms – browsers can use a Common
CDM, or they can implement separate CDM modules tied to a Common DRM, or
they can use separate CDM modules and separate DRMs and rely upon Common
Encryption for interoperability.

"All three approaches can work, but there are problems:

"- Security: Enhanced content protection requirements make it highly
likely that future DRMs will be more closely tied to hardware, with the
actual CDM functionality happening outside the browser.

"- State interoperability: if the CDM associated with a particular DRM
is written by different parties, the state transitions of the CDM are
likely to be inconsistent, effecting interoperability.

"- Licensing: Many embedded devices will depend on the use of open
source browsers. The open source browser community needs the ability to
implement EME functionality without having to license CDM technology.

"So CENC and EME only take us two-thirds of the way to solving DRM
interoperability. The *complete solution* requires a means of enabling
commercial media content to be played by open source browsers – to
enable the *DRM to be a platform component* – ensuring security and
state interoperability."

"All three of the remaining issues with a Web interoperable DRM solution
are addressed *if the DRM is baked into the platform*. The question is
how best to accomplish this. The solution Microsoft has adopted is shown
in Figure 4. ..." (emphasis added)

In other words: abolishing Open Source operating systems is the aim and
the attackers are asking the "Open Source browser community" to help them.

Cheers,
Andreas

Received on Tuesday, 17 September 2013 19:45:54 UTC