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Censoring a Number

Posted by kdawson on Tue May 01, 2007 02:44 PM
from the you-can't-copyright-that dept.
Censorship
Rudd-O writes "Months after successful discovery of the HD-DVD processing key, an unprecedented campaign of censorship, in the form of DMCA takedown notices by the MPAA, has hit the Net. For example Spooky Action at a Distance was killed. More disturbingly, my story got Dugg twice, with the second wave hitting 15,500 votes, and today I found out it had simply disappeared from Digg. How long until the long arm of the MPAA gets to my own site (run in Ecuador) and the rest of them holding the processing key? How long will we let rampant censorship go on, in the name of economic interest?" How long before the magic 16-hex-pairs number shows up in a comment here?
+ -
story

Related Stories

[+] Digg.com Attempts To Suppress HD-DVD Revolt 1142 comments
fieryprophet writes "An astonishing number of stories related to HD-DVD encryption keys have gone missing in action from digg.com, in many cases along with the account of the diggers who submitted them. Diggers are in open revolt against the moderators and are retaliating in clever and inventive ways. At one point, the entire front page comprised only stories that in one way or another were related to the hex number. Digg users quickly pointed to the HD DVD sponsorship of Diggnation, the Digg podcast show. Search digg for HD-DVD song lyrics, coffee mugs, shirts, and more for a small taste of the rebellion." Search Google for a broader picture; at this writing, about 283,000 pages contain the number with hyphens, and just under 10,000 without hyphens. There's a song. Several domain names including variations of the number have been reserved. Update: 05/02 05:44 GMT by J : New blog post from Kevin Rose of Digg to its users: "We hear you."
[+] Science: Own Your Own 128-Bit Integer 477 comments
Byte Swapper writes "After all the fuss over the AACS trying to censor a certain 128-bit number that now has something over two million hits on Google, the folks at Freedom to Tinker would like to point out that you too can own your own integer. They've set up a script that will generate a random number, encrypt a copyrighted haiku with it, and then deed the number back to you. You won't get a copyright on the number or the haiku, but your number has become an illegal circumvention device under the DMCA, such that anyone subject to US law caught distributing it can be punished under the DMCA's anti-trafficking section, for which the DMCA's Safe Harbor provisions do not apply. So F9090211749D5BE341D8C5565663C088 is truly mine now, and you can pry it out of my cold, dead fingers!"
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  • Not very long... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 01 2007, @02:45PM (#18945719)
    09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0

  • Ah My! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by MightyMartian (840721) on Tuesday May 01 2007, @02:47PM (#18945751) Journal
    It's amazing to see just how worthless and futile DRM is. It penalizes the poor saps who don't have the know-how to override it. As for the rest, and that includes the pirates, it's no obstacle at all.

    If you had a lock that kept out only the people you actually wanted in, but couldn't keep out those that were actually going to rob you blind, one would think that your solution might be a little more robust than "I'll see anyone who reports how badly my lock works".

    • Re:Ah My! (Score:5, Insightful)

      by CokeJunky (51666) on Tuesday May 01 2007, @02:53PM (#18945885)
      Actually, it penalizes the rich saps who don't have the know-how to override it. The poor saps can't afford the movies and music at the current prices of such things.

    • Re:Ah My! (Score:5, Interesting)

      by KillerCow (213458) on Tuesday May 01 2007, @03:07PM (#18946151)

      It penalizes the poor saps who don't have the know-how to override it. As for the rest, and that includes the pirates, it's no obstacle at all.


      There's a saying in the (physical) lock business. I am not in it, so I may have the wording wrong, but the gist is:

      Locks are to keep honest people honest.


      In the safe business, safes are rated by how long they take to crack. They never claim to be uncrackable.

      Trying to make DRM better than locks and safes in the real world is futile.

  • 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 (Score:5, Informative)

    by freakmn (712872) on Tuesday May 01 2007, @02:48PM (#18945779) Journal
    I was amazed at the quickness of the censors, when I clicked on the link here, and got the "Nothing to see here, please move along." message. I've often seen people say that they got that message, but was never quite sure if it actually happened. This time it did. In cooperation with the summary, here's the number: 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
    • I also hear there is a website devoted 2 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 by some guy in Scottlande or someplace. They say he's really crazy 'cuz his wife went into labor the day discovered 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 an she wouldn't let him look at 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 so when they got home from the hospital he cut her up and buried her in teh yard and then ate his own baby with some chips, oh delicious chips. So they caught him but he managed to memorize 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 and smuggled it into prison with him and the other convicts tried too take it away from him in the shower so he cut them up and ate them to, in fact he went on a rampage and ate all th prison guards with some chips, oh delicious chips. And then he sat down at th warden's desk and stared at 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 only stopping when he had 2 pee in a potted plant in th corner of the room. After memorizing 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 he found th prison surrounded by teh Army and there was a guy on a bullhorn named Dr. Quartermass who was telling him 2 put down teh fork and come out with his hands up. But he managed to escape through the sewers and they couldn't catch him but they found his bag of chips, oh delicious chips. They say he's still hiding too this day in th mountains of Scotchland, th Alpes, updating his website with 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 every day. They also say of your are backpacking in the Alpes that you'd better not carry any chips, oh delicious chips. They say they'll never catch him 2 because there are laws that protect mountain people and the police are scared too go up there. But he has 2 come to a city once a month on teh seventh day and he breaks into a house that has a computer and he types 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 over and over and he eats anyone at home with chips, oh delicious chips. So the police are hoping to catch him when he goes 2 the city but so far he's eaten over 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 people and 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 bags of chips, oh delicious chips so it seems like there is no stopping him. You may think I'm making all this up but it's the truth and I know it cause I asked my friend who works at the MPAA and it said it's true so it is.

  • Source (Score:5, Informative)

    by W2k (540424) <[moc.liamg] [ta] [suilesnevs.mlehliw]> on Tuesday May 01 2007, @02:48PM (#18945787) Homepage Journal
    I would post the processing key, but I'll link to the original posting instead:

    http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=121866&pag e=6 [doom9.org]

    I recommend interested slashdotters read the thread, there's a lot of interesting context to the discovery.

  • Remember De-CSS? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by sesshomaru (173381) on Tuesday May 01 2007, @02:50PM (#18945809) Journal

    How long before the magic 16-hex-pairs number shows up in a comment here?
    Or better yet, on T-Shirts sold to benefit the Electronic Frontiers Foundation?

    Remember De-CSS?

  • Time to get out and use the old pen to write a nice little letter to my congress critter.

    I'm all for someone using their rights to protect what is their's. Not a problem, but when it dictates what they can do with the things they own, and speech, I think it has crossed a line I'd rather it not cross.

    Some say Americans just take the abuse and can't see what the big deal is, unless it might cause re-runs of Friends to be pulled. Some people say Americans are sheep and will go where a select class of people point for them to go. I have sometimes seen these rights dry up a little when not constantly defended, and I start to think American's are lemmings, not sheep.

    I guess I'm just as guilty as everyone else. I'm no fool. I can see I'm like that also, but I'm trying really hard to be different.

    Short Answer: It all stops when we all stop it.

  • Hex Art (Score:5, Informative)

    by MythMoth (73648) on Tuesday May 01 2007, @02:52PM (#18945883) Homepage
    I liked this version... [metaatem.net]

  • Don't use this one (Score:5, Funny)

    by demonlapin (527802) on Tuesday May 01 2007, @02:53PM (#18945899) Homepage Journal
    04 08 15 16 23 42

  • Incoming stories (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Deorus (811828) <jps@corah.org> on Tuesday May 01 2007, @02:54PM (#18945929)
    I've been frenetically digging up incoming stories about this. This is nolonger about the key itself but one's freedom of speech. This demonstrates the worst of the DMCA and how it's being used to harm people's freedom and fair use rights.

  • Bittorrent (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 01 2007, @02:56PM (#18945951)
    09

  • Poetry Contest (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 01 2007, @02:57PM (#18945959)
    Oh nine, eff nine, one one oh too!
    Nine dee, seven four, eee three, five bee.
    Dee ate for one,
    Five six,
    See five,
    Six three, five six, ate eight sea oh!

  • Tag It! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by SilentOneNCW (943611) <silentdragon@gmail . c om> on Tuesday May 01 2007, @02:57PM (#18945963) Homepage
    09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 Seriously, tag it.

    • Re:Tag It! (Score:5, Informative)

      by Ralph Yarro (704772) on Tuesday May 01 2007, @03:24PM (#18946491) Homepage
      Tags can contain numbers but mustn't start with a number. It won't give you an error but you'll see that it doesn't "remember" your tag like it normally would. Don't think the dollar sign works at the beginning of a tag either either. So the tag needs to be something like : hex09f911029d74e35bd84156c5635688c0

  • Civil Disobedience (Score:5, Insightful)

    by ewhac (5844) on Tuesday May 01 2007, @02:57PM (#18945973) Homepage Journal
    I repudiate the DMCA, and all who would enforce it. It is a corrupt law, born of a corrupt process, in the service of corrupt people. As such, I will not respect or observe it, and you shouldn't, either.

    The media processing key for AACS is: 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0

    Schwab

  • For those keeping score at home.... (Score:5, Funny)

    by ReverendLoki (663861) on Tuesday May 01 2007, @03:04PM (#18946087)

    The score so far:

    Posts mentioning the infamous hex 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0: 25
    Posts remarking how they have the same number as their luggage combination: 5

    Stay tuned, folks, the game ain't over yet!

  • Wikipedia article on the number is down too. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by sabre86 (730704) on Tuesday May 01 2007, @03:07PM (#18946143)
    When I read this slashdot post, the first thing I thought was "I bet there's a wikipedia article on it!" Sure enough, either somebody has posted one and it's been deleted and protected, or the editors went ahead and jumped on it and protected it [wikipedia.org]. (I haven't checked yet, though there are "additional information links. Nor have I check it in other bases.)

    Guess I should look into postng this to one of the "anti-censorship on wikipeida" sites.

    For what it's worth, this is utter crap, but it shows a severe weakness in copyright law. Anything that can be represented with data, anything at all, can be encoded/encrpyted on anything else, given an arbitrary coding mechanism. For instance, let us create "sabre86's stanard coding scheme": add 1 to any number. After encoding we have 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C1. Look, it's a different number! I guess it isn't a circumvention. Or is it?

    You can extend this logic arbitarily to anything, so that not only can any string represent any other string (and thus be a "copy"), any string can be the key to an encoding scheme, meaning that posting any string is "circumvention" if I see fit to describe my encryption process such that it encrypts/encodes a copyrighted work using that string as a "key."

    So all strings are copyrighted because they can derived from other copyrighted strings through an arbitrary encoding scheme and all strings are potentially circumventions of DRM/CRAP because they are both a representation of a known key in a different encoding and the key for some other arbitrary encryption algorithm that "circumvents the copyright protections."

    Bullshit

    --sabre86

  • How long must a number be to be copyrightable? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Myria (562655) on Tuesday May 01 2007, @03:11PM (#18946235)
    How long must a number be to be copyrightable? Any digital file, including programs, can be written as a number, yet obviously pictures and programs can be copyrighted. The number 1 cannot be copyrighted, but the 98641-decimal-digit number corresponding to the original Super Mario Bros. ROM images can be. Where is the line drawn? Can cryptographic keys be copyrighted? Can the MPAA use a (long) key containing a copyrightable image so that the cryptographic key is copyrighted as well?

  • Everything digital is a number (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Mr_Icon (124425) on Tuesday May 01 2007, @03:13PM (#18946259) Homepage
    Everything digital is as a number (hence the name "digital").

    Circumvention software? A long number. PDFs with classified military information? Long numbers. Child porn? Long numbers. Having those illegal numbers on your hard drive will get you convicted.

    So, if you are going to argue that numbers can't be illegal, think about the above examples, and reconsider your arguing strategy -- you will not win that argument with a judge.

  • Check my signature (Score:5, Funny)

    by killmenow (184444) on Tuesday May 01 2007, @03:15PM (#18946317)
    Look at old posts. I've been using that exact sequence of hex digits as my signature on posts since the beginning.

  • A possible turn of events...? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Jugalator (259273) on Tuesday May 01 2007, @03:17PM (#18946345) Journal
    Indeed, it has silently disappeared from Digg again, for the second time.
    I think basically this turn of events unfolded, although I might not have got the numbers 100% accurate yet!

    9 hackers looking into poor security,
    249 MPAA lawyers browsing porn in the silence before the storm.

    17 sites spreading the news,
    2 sites surviving the mass visits.

    157 drops of sweat down the AACS team's cheeks,
    116 frantic phone calls buzzing in the offices.

    227 lawyers starting up Plan B,
    There's now 91 sites to shut down.

    $216 sent as bribe for the Digg staff,
    still 65 sites still up and running.

    86 shutdown reasons discovered by abusing the DMCA,
    197 prayers one will work.

    99 sites now publishing the keys... oh wait!
    86 managers finding the case is slipping out of control.

    136 confused MPAA members mumbling about HD-DVD keys,
    192 reasons found to keep trying to stifle sales. :-(

  • You can't claim Copyright on a random crypto key (Score:5, Insightful)

    by burris (122191) on Tuesday May 01 2007, @03:20PM (#18946397)
    I'm sorry, but you can't claim Copyright on a randomly generated cryptographic key. That is because a randomly generated key does not meet the minimum creativity requirements of Copyright law. No creative input == No Copyright. The bar is very low but a randomly generated key patently does not meet it.

  • As a program (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Alioth (221270) <no@spam> on Tuesday May 01 2007, @03:31PM (#18946631) Journal
    A novel way of saying it.


                    add hl,bc
                    ld sp,hl
                    ld de,09d02h
                    ld (hl),h
                    ex (sp),hl
                    ld e,e
                    ret c
                    ld b,c
                    ld d,(hl)
                    push bc
                    ld h,e
                    ld d,(hl)
                    adc a,b
                    ret nz

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