Denuvo asks to subpoena Discord, Valve and Reddit to identify hacker it’s suing for cracking its DRM protection
Denuvo, the anti-piracy company known for its digital rights management (DRM) protection, has filed a lawsuit against an individual using the alias ‘voices38’ for cracking and publicly releasing exploits for its DRM technology. In an effort to unmask the defendant, Denuvo is seeking to subpoena three major internet platforms: Discord, Valve (Steam), and Reddit, hoping these companies’ records will reveal the hacker’s true identity and details about their activities.
The case highlights ongoing tensions between DRM providers and reverse-engineers who argue that circumventing copy protection mechanisms is a legitimate form of security research or activism. Denuvo’s DRM has been a frequent target for crackers, who view defeating it as a technical challenge and a statement against restrictive protection schemes in gaming software.
This legal action represents Denuvo’s aggressive approach to protecting its technology and maintaining its market position within the gaming industry, where its protections are widely used by major publishers to safeguard newly released titles. The outcome of this case could have significant implications for how platform operators handle requests for user information, as well as broader questions about the legality and ethics of DRM circumvention.