Re: [OS:N:] DRM and Open Source

James Michael DuPont <[email protected]> wrote:

>>
> I don't see how DRM - in and of itself - can make open source
> unusable.

because it is impossible to make an "open source" program that cannot
be modified to LIE about its own state.
<<

In that case, the DRM algorithms violate Kerchoff's Second Principle,
stated in "La Cryptographie Militaire" (1883), which states that the
security of the cipher must not depend on the secrecy of the algorithm.
This is considered very basic to current cryptographic algorithms such as
RSA, 3DES, Blowfish and Rijndael, all of which are published and
extensively discussed, and for which there are open-source implementations.
In other words, you can know the algorithm backwards, but you're still
going to need the key to decrypt the ciphertext.

While simple approaches, such as distributing content along with a matching
one-time session key, are so obviously weak it's not funny (just give your
friends the key along with the content), I'm not so sure more sophisticated
approaches can't be achieved using open source.

We can certainly provide *security* as good or better than proprietary
programs, via OpenSSH, OpenSSL, FreeS/WAN, etc. I'm sure the open-source
community could do something similar which allows content creators to
distribute their work and achieve an equitable situation in which content
is available at a fair price and creators can earn a living.

Best,

--- Les Bell, RHCE, CISSP
[http://www.lesbell.com.au]



_______________________________________________
Subscription and Archive: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/open-source-now-list/
-
For K12OS technical help join K12OSN:
<https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/k12osn>