Understanding the HDCP Master Key Leak

“On Monday, somebody posted online an array of numbers which
purports to be the secret master key used by HDCP, a video
encryption standard used in consumer electronics devices such as
DVD players and TVs. I don’t know if the key is genuine, but let’s
assume for the sake of discussion that it is. What does the leak
imply for HDCP’s security? And what does the leak mean for the
industry, and for consumers?

“HDCP is used to protect high-def digital video signals “on the
wire,” for example on the cable connecting your DVD player to your
TV. HDCP is supposed to do two things: it encrypts the content so
that it can’t be captured off the wire, and it allows each endpoint
to verify that the other endpoint is an HDCP-licensed device. From
a security standpoint, the key step in HDCP is the initial
handshake, which establishes a shared secret key that will be used
to encrypt communications between the two devices, and at the same
time allows each device to verify that the other one is
licensed.”

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