The DMCA is a copyright law that was passed in 1998. It prohibits the production and dissemination of technology, devices, or services designed to circumvent measures that control access to copyrighted works.

One section of the DMCA, section 1201, has posed some problems for the cybersecurity community.

According to the U.S. Copyright Office, “section 1201 prohibits the circumvention of technological measures employed by or on behalf of copyright owners to protect access to their works (also known as ‘access controls’), as well as the trafficking in technology or services that facilitate such circumvention. It also prohibits trafficking in technologies or services that facilitate circumvention of technological measures that protect the exclusive rights granted to copyright owners…”