Apple plugs iTunes hole

CBR reported Three programmers developed software that hacks into Apple's online music store iTunes to offer its songs free of anticopying protection. The new program, called PyMusique, allows iTunes subscribers to purchase and re-download tracks that are free of Apple's Digital Rights Management (DRM) copyright protection (i.e. the mp3s from the iTunes Music Store were stripped of antipiracy protections). These songs become DRM-free AAC files that can be copied, burned or transferred.

Created by Travis Watkins, Cody Brocious and Jon Johansen (the notorious Norwegian programmer responsible for releasing DVD-copying software in 1999), the new software is available in Windows version and Linux, which is written using the Python language. The same group developed the DVD Content Scrambling System to decrypt DVDs.

See the hypebot blog provided some additional background and information, and the hack is here.

But it did not take Apple long to plug the hole. PCPro reported Apple has closed the gaping hole in its iTunes Music Store's security which allowed hackers to gain access and download DRM-free music.

'The security hole in the iTunes Music Store which was recently exploited has been closed, and as a consequence the iTunes Music Store will now sell music only to customers using iTunes version 4.7, the company said in a statement.

Apple added that around 15 per cent of iTMS users would have to upgrade to iTunes 4.7, which is available from www.apple.com/uk/itunes.

Updated 3/22 19:40   MP3Newswire reports Within a day PyMusique comes back with its own update and now functions again with iTunes.

The question is how long before Apple updates iTunes again - and asks all iTunes users to upgrade again?

As DVD Jon told CNET "The work I do is completely legal in my country. Of course, I know very well that not doing anything illegal doesn't mean you won't be prosecuted (or) sued."

I suspect Apple will continue to create new blocks for PyMusique. I also expect their lawyers to come out soon too.

The irony here is that people are trying to buy this music as opposed to trading for it online for free. That has to mean something, DRM or not.

News.com reports The PyMusique programmers say they are primarily interested in allowing people using Linux computers to purchase music from the iTunes store, explaining their goals in a blog posting online. Their software requires users to have an iTunes account and pay the ordinary price for music.

They say they weren't aiming at creating a tool for stripping iTunes copy-protection off songs. However, Apple's system adds the layer of copy-protection inside the iTunes software itself, and so they didn't need to add it in their own version, they said.

Apple's software already allows customers to create an unprotected version of a song, by burning an iTunes purchase to a CD. That file can be ripped into an ordinary MP3.

Brocious said the updated version of PyMusique would only be available for Linux, and that the programmers would not make a Windows version this time.