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The Microsoft e-mail below isn't juicy in itself — that's why we put it below the fold. But the big red "Confidential" meant we just had to share this memo warning licensees that Windows Media DRM had been cracked. Again. They have teams working on it "around the clock" — staying up all night to save YOU from the nasty pirates!

Anyway, just a case of "Why don't they build the plane out of the Black Box?"

From: Windows Media License Agreements
Sent: Thursday, September 07, 2006
To: Windows Media License Agreements
Subject: Status - Windows Media DRM circumvention

MICROSOFT CONFIDENTIAL

Dear Windows Media DRM Licensee,

As you may know, on August 28 2006 Microsoft released an update of the individualized blackbox component (IBX) of Windows Media DRM to address a circumvention of the Windows Media DRM system. Unfortunately, a new version of the tool that circumvents Windows Media DRM technology on Windows PCs has surfaced, breaking the content protection that our content partners apply to their intellectual property such as music or video content.

As we did with the initial circumvention, Microsoft will use the built-in renewability features of Windows Media DRM to deploy an update to address this circumvention. We have teams working around the clock on this project, and this update will include incrementing the Security Version of the individualized blackbox component, which should ease deployment and make it easier to detect the update remotely. We will continue to work closely with you to inform you of our progress and help you update your systems as needed. As always, we appreciate your feedback and ongoing support.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding this circumvention or related updates, please contact (email removed)

Kind regards,

Windows Media Licensing Department

Microsoft Consumer Media Technology