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Hackers bypass coffee DRM

by on15 October 2014



Java flaw

It looks like someone has cracked the DRM in Keurig's coffee machine which stopped it from accepting rival coffee pods.

Coffee maker Keurig's hit the headlines by having a programmed coffee maker which was protected by DRM. The move was widely viewed as a desperate attempt by Green Mountain, which purchased Keurig in 2006, to protect its profits and stop other companies from putting out imitation K-Cups at much cheaper prices.

Keurig designed a sophisticated anti-counterfeiting system for its latest brewer that scans for the company's proprietary markings and immediately locks out any off-brand capsules. However, it looks like its rivals have already figured a way around the system. Mother Parkers Tea and Coffee says its latest RealCup capsules are fully compatible with Keurig 2.0.

Keurig Green Mountain is facing more than a dozen lawsuits over the controversial move — brought both by disgruntled individuals and companies determined not to get locked out of the lucrative coffee pod business.

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