Amazon Kindle DRM cracked by hackers

The popular Amazon Kindle e-reader has been hacked by an Israeli man who successfully broke through the device's digital rights management.

The Israeli hacker, Labba, saw a posting on a popular Israeli hacking forum, and decided to give it a try.  He was able to successfully crack the Kindle's DRM, with Labba's guide and additional information available here.

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Book publishers have the ability to choose what kind of DRM is used, but most books published in the .azw format are not able to be transferred to or from PCs.  Some authors have spoken out against the use of DRM, saying it's unable to stop piracy while crippling books, but Amazon continues to use it.

kindleAnother program, "Unswindle," has the ability to convert .azw files into formats that are supported on other mobile devices.  Some users have had success using Unswindle, while other users said they are encountering errors.

Both Amazon and book publishers need to work together to try and eliminate the use of DRM with e-books.  Apple didn't begin to offer DRM-free music through iTunes until Jon Lech Jonansen ("DVD Jon") cracked it.

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Amazon is expected to issue a patch that disables the program, and so the Israeli hacker's method to circumvent DRM also is ineffective.  I'm interested to hear if Amazon is interested in listening to consumers' rants about DRM, or if it will just enable the DRM and carry on business as usual.

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