SanDisk embeds DRM engine in Flash cards

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Oct. 04, 2005

Flash memory pioneer SanDisk has embedded DRM and copy protection functions into several flash card form factors. "TrustedFlash" will allow users to buy music, movies, and games on flash cards for use interchangeably in mobile phones, PDAs, laptops, and other devices, according to the company.

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SanDisk says its new, patent-pending DRM approach turns the flash memory card into the system's digital rights manager, in contrast to typical proprietary DRM schemes that bind content to a particular host device, such as a specific cell phone or MP3 player. This means users can move a card -- and its DRM-protected content -- from device to device, without compromising its content protection system, according to the company.

How it works

The new TrustedFlash cards contain a "high-performance cryptographic engine and tamper-resistant technology," said SanDisk senior vice president Yoram Cedar. These functions "provide much higher level security than has previously existed on memory cards and on most consumer electronics devices." The cards provide full DRM capabilities and support both symmetric and asymmetric algorithms, he added.

According to SanDisk product marketing manager Dave Guidry, the multimedia files on TrustedFlash cards are encrypted, which prevents devices from playing them without suitable decryption algorithms.

The card implements an application program interface (API) through which the device establishes a "secure channel" to the card, Guidry explained. Using the cards therefore requires the presence of TrustedFlash support on the device -- either in the OS, in a driver, or within a media player application. SanDisk provides a toolkit with which companies can develop the required support, Guidry added.

In order to circumvent the problem of devices lacking the software to unlock and access the content on TrustedFlash cards, SanDisk has partnered to create special media players that contain the required support, Guidry says. The special media players can be included directly in an unencrypted region of a TrustedFlash card, allowing a device to install the media player, which then unlocks and plays the content on the card.

Based on this approach, SanDisk will soon launch a series of media-on-flash releases called "gruvi." The inaugural gruvi release will be the new Stone album, "A bigger bang", and is due out in November. Gruvi cards will initially come with media players for Windows laptops and PCs, Windows Mobile Pocket PCs and Smartphones, and Palm OS PDAs, Guidry said.

Availability

Sandisk said it is currently offering TrustedFlash cards in miniSD, microSD, and SD card formats, in capacities up to two gigabytes. Cards with preloaded music content are expected to be available in the near future. EMI Music, Samsung Mobile Communications, Yahoo! Music and NDS, have already adopted TrustedFlash, according to SanDisk.

TrustedFlash cards also function as ordinary flash memory cards in non-secure host devices, the company said.

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