Intel confirms HDCP Master Key has been cracked

Intel told PC Mag that the leaked HDCP master key that appeared on the Internet on Tuesday is the real deal. The key will enable hackers to decode the digital stream sent out to displays, but Intel spokesman Tom Waldrop thinks it's unlikely that this will be possible with software. He believes hackers will use the master key to craft a chip to decode Blu-ray discs.

The disclosure means, in effect, that the content flowing over the encrypted HDMI connection may be recorded and authenticated using an unlicensed device.

Intel spokesman Tom Waldrop said after two days of investigation, the company had informed its partners and licensees that the key, which was posted online on Tuesday, was indeed legitimate.

"We have tested this published material that was on the Web," Waldrop said. "It does produce product keys... the net of that means that it is a circumvention of the code."