James Laird got his hands on a malfunctioning AirPort Express, took it apart and read the contents of its ROM (Read-only memory). This allowed the Australian developer to extract the tightly guarded cryptographic key that Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) uses to identify devices as well as to protect the content streamed via its proprietary AirPlay protocol. Laird then went on to write an open source (Perl/C) application called ShairPoint as a hardware replacement for AirPlay.

It is unknown whether Apple has a different set of keys assigned to each AirPlay compatible device. If that is the case, then a simple firmware upgrade could suffice to break the AirPort Express hack. Still, such a move would be trickier since it would entail a corresponding update to iTunes; which could earn the ire of AirPort Express devices owners who never bother with upgrading their firmware. 

On one level too, it would also seem that Apple didn't do a good job of hiding the key in the first place. Laird derided Apple in the README of the ShairPoint package, "Thanks also to Apple for obfuscating the private key in the ROM image, using a scheme that made the de-obfuscation (sic) code itself stand out like a flare." 

As noted by AppleInsider, the publication of the private key could give rise to custom hacks to set up at home on a variety of devices, though it is unlikely to be used in commercially sold hardware. Whatever the case, I personally doubt that it is possible for AirPlay to remain an iTunes to hardware-only platform now. The question on my mind though, is whether Apple forecasted the eventual cracking of its AirPlay key so soon. What is your opinion on this development?

For more on this story:
- check out this article at Ars Technica
- check out this article at AppleInsider
- check out this article at PCWorld
- check out this blog post at James Laird's website

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