Kindle's DRM Hacked. The Beginning of the end?

Could it be really possible? No system is foolproof, so you are not going to have a digital right management system that is “unhackable.” But the news that a hacker has managed to get through Amazon’s copyright protection system won’t be good news for Amazon. Apparently, an Israeli hacker has managed to get around Amazon’s DRM, essentially making it possible for Kindle owners to take their Kindle books and transfer them to other devices. Even if the news is true, Amazon can probably address the issue. But the move is a warning to Amazon and other companies that hold DRM technologies dear.

Amazon has two choices here. It can either fix the issue with a security patch (or a complicated solution for that matter). Or it can go the way Apple went and work its way towards getting rid of its DRM scheme. Apple is a company that has practiced both approaches. While the company got rid of its DRM a while ago, it still fights of jailbreakers on a consistent basis. Amazon can save itself all these headaches by adopting a more open policy, but it’s not know whether the company is prepared to do that.

Amazon and Apple both like to be in control. That’s certainly not a big negative as that approach has allowed them to develop and grow their gadgets to superstardom. At the same time, digital right management schemes are not only annoying for customers, they are not 100% foolproof. No scheme is. The book and music industries are very different, so Apple’s approach may not be adopted in the e-book industry right-away. But let’s hope the future of e-books is DRM-free as well.

Your take: should Amazon gets rid of its DRM scheme and open it all up?