Israeli programmer hacks Kindle, breaks DRM protection
Nothing makes you feel like you truly own your media and content like being able to do almost whatever you want with it. We’re already used to DRM for our MP3s and the limitations it puts on device selection and sharing, but the idea that the same kind of protection would be put on our books was a head-scratcher. For books on the Kindle, it works just that way. You can’t go putting your content on any device you want, whenever you want to — until now. An Israeli hacker has managed to break the DRM for books on the Kindle so that that content can be downloaded onto any other device.
The hacker, known only as Labba, posed a challenge on a hacker forum and was quickly aided by other programmers to discover the hack for the Kindle. They were essentially able to break the DRM protection and find a way to get the eBooks converted to an open format and into PDF files. This allows the files to be read on several eReaders, not just the Kindle. Now we have to wait and see what Amazon will do to patch things up, but Labba says whenever Amazon does release a software solution, he will be able to hack it again — just like the iPhone getting jailbroken with every software update. Or, you know, you can just buy paper books.
Thanks, Friend of BGR!
UPDATE: Looks like this was just “hacked” again as an original DRM workaround has been available since a year or so back.
Wow, first twitter hacked by Iranians now kindle by Israelis. What’s next? The Droid lol
I should point out the poetry here that the Israeli guy was freeing knowledge for the masses while the Iranians were shutting it down (and yes, I’m Israeli).
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Yes, because we all know how keen Israel is to provide freedom to the masses…
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Oh snap ! LOOL
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Droid has already been rooted.
Um. Maybe I am missing something, but broken Kindle DRM and converting to other formats is old news. This was done long ago.
This has been available since shortly after the Kindle was released!
IM IN UR KEN DOLL KRAKEN UR PROTEKSHUNS
NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! Leave my barbie out this too.
Yes, we’ve had that ability for quite a long time, now.
you would think the person who did this post would know that oh well
No hack it so it supports epub files and we’re set.
DRM music! Are you kidding me? There is nothing like DRM music today.
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That’ll teach Bezos to remove 1984 from all the Kindles.
This sort of thing makes you feel really good.
You can’t DRM ebooks. It’s too easy just to build a rig to photograph & OCR them.
and no one cares since for most people it’s easier to buy a book than sit there for hours scanning the books. i’ve heard this on slashdot that you can OCR books and there is no DRM for it. if you live in your parent’s basement with nothing to do all day long but sit on your computer then…..
No YOU don’t care. if people did not care the internet would not be full of scanned books availaible tru distribution.
I have seen a 1 million dollar Libary of scanned book. Mostly legal books too.
http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/20-best-websites-to-download-free-e-books/
http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/20-best-websites-to-download-free-e-books-part-ii/
So, where are the hack instructions and hacked PDF’s
i find it not that useful, not worth the money
To hack a drm Kindle book you need two things – the hacking script, which yes has been available for a while now, but also the the device pid, the identifier that unlocks the book and without which the script is useless; so for example nobody can hack a Kindle-drm book this way unless they have that number from their own device
There are documented ways how to find The Kindle pid and the iPhone/Kindle pid, but Amazon released a Kindle for PC app and the achievement described above is to find a way to discover the pid of that one
So if you own a Kindle or an iPhone and you transfer you drm-Kindle book you use the old ways,but if yo u want not to bother but directly download the KIndle-drm book with K4PC, you need the new thingy…
I love these hackers (minus any hacker with bad motives trying to take websites down and stuff but jailbreaking etc Iam all for it). Fight the power! Developing code and cracking code should be protected by the constitution.
When News is Not Really News – This just in: This Post is Old Hat!
Hackers must be bored if they are hacking into peoples Kindles.
Already done a long time ago … but not by an israeli which is the whole propagantiste point of this post.
The achievement described is the way to discover the kindle pid
Yeah, for a minute I thought they had cracked Topaz, but it looks like it’s still the old mobi crack sort of juiced up.
you never really know what you can’t really see
i’ll be there, i’ll be there
Parece ironia, mas os sinais para TV do satélite Amazonas,também já foram pirateados. Viva a pirataria a AzBox, Megabox, Goldbox e outros oxs.
Adeus as explorações da Sky e TVs a cabo.
Lembro até que o Presidente Lula queria liberar 144 canais de TV para o povo, mas as TVs a cabo não deixaram. Os piratas fizeram o trabalho. Salve, Salve.
Manoel.