Updated Angry computer users laid siege to Adobe's San Jose HQ this morning, in one of several rallies around the United States in protest at the arrest of Russian cryptographer Dmitry Sklyarov.

Sklyarov demonstrated the feeble 'security' in Adobe's eBook file format at DefCon in Las Vegas last week, and found himself arrested under the US DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act). Sklyarov's employer develops a version that circumvents the encryption on Adobe eBooks for the benefit of partially sighted computers, but only works on paid-for eBooks. So it's difficult to see what Adobe is losing here, except for its ability to rob the blind. Literally.

Linux kernel developer Alan Cox resigned his Usenix post at the weekend, urging non-US companies to boycott events in the land of the free until the draconian DMCA is repealed.

Don Marti, who organized the San Jose protest, said that the campaign was receiving support from within Adobe:-

"Many Adobe employees and it may be the majority are disgusted by the behaviour of Adobe management," he said. ®

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Photos of the protest by Greg Broiles, hosted by Cryptome