Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) has admitted that the High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) key posted last week on the Internet is the real deal. Intel spokesperson Tom Waldrop confirmed that "It does appear to be a master key," though the company downplayed the significance of the leak. "It would be a lot of work and a lot of expense to do that," noted Waldrop, referring to the efforts required to put together the hardware needed to exploit the key.

To understand the significance of the HDCP key though, one first has to understand what it does. A report by Fox News summed it up well by describing a HDCP key as something that is "required to send a video across the thin, flat HDMI cables that link most new flat-panel TVs to gaming systems, Blu-ray players, or whatever."

For now, some analysts are concerned that this development will threaten the viability of premium video-on-demand offerings, which will see movie studios releasing selected movies within two months of their release in the theatres. Ultimately, it will probably take some time for the effects of this breach to become evident. I personally have no doubt though, that the larger "warez" sites already have plans to use the master key for unfretted access into the raw data stream of Blu-ray discs.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at The Inquirer
- check out this article at Home Media Magazine