The Secure Digital Music Initiative has issued a reward of $10 000 to the first hacker to crack its codes. You have until 07/10/00.SDMI is a consortium set up to serve the interests of over 150 players in the musica-electronica, IT and PTT industries including Sony, Phillips, Samsung, Hitachi, Pioneer, Ericcson and Nokia. Researching into systems of secure digital distribution, the SDMI currently has 10 digital watermarking proto-types ready to go.In an open letter, SDMI executive director, Leonardo Chiariglione issued the following throw-down, challenging hackers to remove the digital watermarks:“Show off your skills, make some money, and help shape the future of the on-line digital music economy. The proposed technologies must pass several stringent tests: they must be inaudible, robust and run efficiently on various platforms, including PCs. They should also be tested by you. So here’s the invitation: Attack the proposed technologies. Crack them. By successfully breaking the SDMI protected content, you will play a role in determining what technology SDMI will adopt.” Of course, why the geek who cracks all the cryptographs would pass this onto the SDMI for 10g is another matter: black market estimates value the hack at over 10 million that price. Plus, why hack the watermarks?  Why not just hack the system napster style.