SDMI Hackers Receive Legal Threats

I was suspicious that the "Crack SDMI" contest would lead to the very hackers that were helping the initiative to get stabbed in the back by the ruling forces of SDMI in an article I wrote for WebReview seven months ago. Imagine my surprise when I read that some researchers received legal threats before they could publish their findings.

Matthew Oppenheim, a lawyer representing SDMI, said the group doesn't want to limit academic freedom or research, "but if somebody releases a paper that provides very specific information about how to attack that type of technology, it's problematic."

<rant>
I've never seen an industry so scared or short-sighted in my lifetime. If you didn't want any secrets to get out about how to work around your format (which was a bad idea in the first place), don't open up your code for open ridicule and cracking.

I laughed at the contest back then, now I'm just irritated at the audacity of the situation. Basically they are saying that hackers could do the work for the SDMI group, but not talk about their results openly. Does that mean the results of the research is now considered contraband?

I'm starting a new acronymn that the RIAA should take heed to: MIETP (Make It Easier Than Piracy). Deploy a subscription service that makes it easier for users to pay for songs then it would be to find and download a pirated copy. Then you might stop embarrasing yourselves with ideas like SDMI.
</rant>