Digital rights management or DRM, also called anticopy programs, is a term that refers to access control technologies used by publishers and copyright holders to limit the use of digital media or devices to unauthorized persons or equipment. It is also used to refer to the restrictions associated with specific instances of digital works or devices.
This protection system is usually applied to digital content such as books, music, videos, documents, etc. Companies like Sony or Microsoft use this technology but… how does it work?
▸Packaging and encryption
Digital content is packed and encrypted with a key.
▸Storage
The encrypted packet is stored on a protected content server.
▸Licenses
The specific decryption key is stored on a license server. Each key is associated with a content and has associated conditions of use of the work.
▸Payments
The user makes the corresponding economic transfer that is received and saved in the payment server.
▸Download
The client has a player compatible with the format of the requested resource that connects to the content server to download it directly or via streaming.
▸Decoding
The player on the client’s computer also connects to the license server to obtain the key with which to decode and play the downloaded content.
The main problem with this protocol is that it gives browsers unusual power over what a user can do with their device and with the videos it plays, regardless of whether those uses are legal or not: what matters are the limits that rights holders wish to impose on the content.
Now, an even bigger problem, and which has been insufficiently discussed until now, is related to the security of these components, which are gradually being introduced into all devices with Internet access.
The funny thing is that nobody disputes the fact that DRM is broken, that it is a poor standard, invasive, difficult to implement, weak and unpopular: its own defenders complain that it is an insufficient solution.
See also:
What Risks can be presented to us with VideoGames
Be careful when you download on pirate sites
