The first copy of an UHD Blu-ray disc has appeared on a torrent network. This could suggest that the AACS 2.0 disc encryption, developed in collaboration by Hollywood and tech companies, has been cracked.

Disc encryption cracked?
A Russian torrent tracker by the name of UltraHDclub has uploaded the first 1:1 copy of a UHD Blu-ray movie to the BitTorrent network. Earlier copies have been captured via the HDMI output but on this release the entire disc folder structure is intact.

The movie is ‘Smurfs 2’ but the title or the fact that the movie is now available in 1:1 quality through illegal channels is less important than the implications. If this is indeed a true copy, which one expert seemingly has confirmed to TorrentFreak, it could mean that the strong AACS 2.0 encryption has been cracked.

AACS was introduced with HD-DVD and Blu-ray in 2005. The encryption technology has been developed by a consortium of companies, including Disney, Intel, Microsoft, Panasonic, Warner Bros, and Sony. With the launch of UHD Blu-ray, a stronger AACS 2.0 version was employed. It has not been cracked, perhaps until now.


More discs enroute
We have to emphasize that no evidence for AACS 2.0 been cracked has been presented, and the disc copy could have been obtained elsewhere. For example, the latest season of Netflix’s ‘Orange is the New Black’ was recently stolen from a sound studio and subsequently leaked onto the torrent network.

The group that has uploaded ‘Smurfs 2’ claims that more UHD Blu-ray copies are coming soon. Smurfs 2 is a 55GB file.

Hollywood has gone to great lengths to ensure that its 4K/HDR movies are secure. A UHD Blu-ray player transmits HDMI signals in encrypted form via something called HDCP 2.2. Only if both devices agree that each other is legit, the 4K/HDR version gets passed through. Netflix and Amazon are also using strong encryption to secure 4K/HDR streams.

Torrent files are of course illegal copies of movies and we do not support such methods. If you want a steady stream of quality movies and TV series you should pay for the content.

- Source: reddit, TorrentFreak