HD-DVD lock hacked again

The latest version of the copyright protection technology used on high-definition HD-DVD movies has been allegedly cracked a week before its official release.

The latest volume key, which will be released with new movies next week, has already been cracked by Slysoft, makers of the popular cracking and copying tools AnyDVD, AnyDVD HD and Clone2DVD.

According to the company's forum site, pirates have successfully hacked the latest version of AACS (Advanced Access Content System), after getting hold of some pre-release versions of the forthcoming Matrix Trilogy movies.

Just three weeks ago, the licensing authority for AACS was forced to invalidate the existing volume key protecting HD-DVD movies after it was cracked and posted around the internet.

The authority has since embarked on a legal war against websites and bloggers who posted the crack but it's largely accepted that it's too late. As a result, version 3 of AACS is due out next week and was supposed to fix the problem.

The Licensing Authority has neither confirmed nor denied the claims yet, but it looks likely that the latest patch to AACS will need a patch of its own.