Unbreakable DVD encryption technology took three months before it was universally defeated, Microsoft’s DRM technology lasted 22 days, the Apple iPhone’s security measures were broken in about a month and a half. TIVO’s was smashed in six hours. SecureRun game protection lasted for 14 days.
At any one moment, there are probably a 4 trillion files available through the typical P2P network. About half of them are in the clear, the other half are wrapped in compression technology. To do what you suggest, network engineers would have to develop matching ‘digital fingerprints’ for known copyrighted works, and compare those digital fingerprints to files available in the public share.
When their first or second enforcement action is done, those digital fingerprints become meaningless as the slightest change to the data changes the digital fingerprint - if they’re going after 192k CBR mp3 files, change it to a VBR file, and it’s a completely different fingerprint, digitally considerably different than the originating piece of work.
Even shifting a couple bits in the header of the digital file, or changing the ID3 text embedded in the mp3 file, renders previous investigative work meaningless. Sure, the human ear can tell it’s a song by a well known artist, but to the digital eyes scanning the data, it’s nothing like what they’re looking for.
i think you underestimate the opposition
first, it won’t be necessary to check all of every file on every p2p machine. all they have to do is snoop enough to determine whether further checking is warranted
like they find 1 hit on 1 of some selected hot titles. based on the 1 hit they can then launch a more thorough analysis
second, pattern matching software has already been built that can identify tampered copies of copyright works
and this has nothing to do with whether the anti-piracy techniques worked. none did, we know that
what is at issue is: how much piracy is going on and what will be the collateral damage to our freedom of speech as a result of the reaction?
i could care less if pirates swipe all the music in china
but if they make us all register ADK keys with our ISP that will be a very serious concern because those ADKs would mean encryption software would not provide us with privacy
botnets are used to launch phishing attacks and they could launch a scan of p2p systems in the same way although likely using a lot of machines legally enlisted
or just use a battery of the new SUN/SPARC machines