Blu-Ray, HD DVD encryption already cracked?

The copy protection at the heart of next-generation disc formats such as Blu-Ray and HD DVD has been broken, according to a code writer's post at the Doom9 video enthusiast forums. The contributor claims to have written software, named BackupHDDVD, that bypasses the Advanced Access Content System (AACS) protection found on the new storage formats and allows users to copy data from the otherwise restricted discs to a PC.

Though in rough form and limited to a handful of HD DVD titles, the program appears to confirm early fears that AACS is too similar to CSS, the encryption scheme used by standard DVDs and famously bypassed by Jon Lech Johansen in 2002. If validated, the circumvention could force a radical revision of copy protection on future discs. Johansen had previously said that AACS would likely be rendered ineffective by the end of this year.

A video claiming to prove the success of the technology can be found after the jump.