Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Jordan
That's not an answer to my question... try reading the essay and giving me reasons to back up your assertions, please.
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I'm not sure this is the proper forum for an education on how digital encryption algorithms work.
However, in a nutshell (although I've explained this to you before on other threads), think of DRM like the lock on the front door of a rental property. That lock is designed to keep the bad guys (pirates) from getting inside and stealing all of the furniture (data). In order to rent the property to a tenant (customer) you give them the key to the front door so that they can get inside and have access to your furniture (data).
Here's the catch. The lock on the front door does nothing to stop the tenant from stealing all of your furniture, no matter how strong of a lock you use.
Digital data is the same way. There is no technological solution to the problem of granting access for legitimate uses and preventing access for illegitimate uses when both are being done by the same user. Once you give a key to a customer who buys your eBook, that customer is then free to pull out the text and put it up on a filesharing site. There is nothing DRM can do to stop them. The only way you can prevent piracy is to not give anyone a key to the file. But then you won't have any customers either.
The whole notion of putting bigger/stronger DRM/biometrics/etc on digital files in an attempt to prevent piracy is an exercise in futility. You could require that a customer submit a DNA sample each time they want to open the data, it wouldn't matter. Once you let them in, they can take it and do whatever they want with it.