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Sony BMG Recalls "Rootkit" CDs; Software Fix May Also Cause Problems

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 15, 2005 - 6:41am.
Washington - Sony BMG has announced that it will recall millions of CDs that contained anti-piracy software that can damage PCs, and offered to exchange copies purchased by consumers, USA Today reported. Sony said that more than 4 million copies of 20 albums featuring the software were manufactured, 2.1 million of which have already been sold. Citing data from security researcher Dan Kaminsky, The Washington Post reports that the controversial "rootkit" anti-piracy technology -- which Microsoft yesterday dubbed malicious software and began efforts to remove from Windows PCs -- is installed on more than half a million computer networks in at least 165 countries. The Sony BMG software, developed by First 4 Internet to prevent users from making unauthorized song copies, hides itself deep within a PC's operating system. The rootkit used to hide the anti-piracy software can be also utilized by virus writers to hide their tracks; trying to remove the software can also permanently damage a PC's ability to play CDs. Meanwhile, the San Jose Mercury News reports that security researchers have found that the patch Sony BMG posted to remove the offensive software may actually cause more problems than the rootkit itself. "The consequences of the flaw are severe,'' Princeton computer science professor Ed Felten and graduate student J. Alex Halderman wrote in a blog posting. "It allows any Web page you visit to download, install and run any code it likes on your computer."
tags: Sony | Software | CD | BMG | Rootkit | Fix | Problems |