Sony, Rootkits and Digital Rights Management Gone Too Far

Hugh Jarss · 2005/11/18

First4 strike again SecurityFocus database has now assigned Sony BMG's DRM uninstallation utility from First 4 a Bugtraq vulnerability ID

http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/15430

The CodeSupport package can be told to download, and then execute arbitrary content from remote Web sites. As it fails to verify that the source of the remote content is from a trusted source, attackers may utilize it to download and execute malicious code from arbitrary sources, facilitating the remote compromise of targeted computers.
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==

peanuts compared to the GO.EXE / autoplay thing, for which heads must surely roll

best wishes, HJ

charlesvar · 2005/11/19

Real Story of the Rogue Rootkit

The story to pay attention to here is the collusion between big media companies who try to control what we do on our computers and computer-security companies who are supposed to be protecting us.
Initial estimates are that more than half a million computers worldwide are infected with this Sony rootkit. Those are amazing infection numbers, making this one of the most serious internet epidemics of all time -- on a par with worms like Blaster, Slammer, Code Red and Nimda.
What do you think of your antivirus company, the one that didn't notice Sony's rootkit as it infected half a million computers? And this isn't one of those lightning-fast internet worms; this one has been spreading since mid-2004. Because it spread through infected CDs, not through internet connections, they didn't notice? This is exactly the kind of thing we're paying those companies to detect -- especially because the rootkit was phoning home.
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http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,69601,00.html

From MS AS Anti-Malware Engineering Team

We also wanted to take a moment to confirm that we are not removing or disabling Sony’s XCP software. We are only removing the rootkit component published by First 4 Internet which is included as part of Sony’s XCP software. We will continue to monitor the situation and react as conditions change.
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http://blogs.technet.com/antimalware/archive/2005/11/17/414741.aspx

This has been posted before, but wanted to highlight that paragraph.

Regards - Charles

charlesvar · 2005/11/19

Windows rootkits in 2005, part two

1. Introduction

In our previous article, we discussed current rootkit development techniques. In this article, we take it a step further and focus upon upcoming, cutting edge trends in rootkit technologies. Then the third and final article in this series will discuss various methods of rootkit detection and countermeasures that can be used by security professionals.

The methods described in this article were presented in our proof of concept rootkit named Shadow Walker at Black Hat 2005. These methods make it possible for an attacker to hide both known and unknown malicious code from a security scanner by controlling its memory reads at the hardware level. Although we focus upon rootkits, the underlying implications are alarming because the technology can be applied to all forms of malicious code, ranging from worms to spyware.
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http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1851

Regards - Charles

RayH · 2005/11/24

Think about it. All that copy protection on CDs is harassing their paying customers. If you have a copy of the CD, then you must have bought it.

All that copy protection doesn't stop the freeloaders. They just go places where they can freeload.

charlesvar · 2005/11/26

Questions brought up by this fiasco:

Sony-baloney

Many questions have arisen in my mind over the past few weeks as I've watched this story unfold. I'd like to share a few of them with you. If you have answers - or more questions - include them in the comments below.
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http://www.securityfocus.com/columnists/370

Regards - Charles

charlesvar · 2005/12/30

Sony settles class action lawsuit over DRM

The record label has agreed to offer US customers money and free downloads to encourage them to replace CDs that secretly install rootkit software
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http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/0,39020645,39244664,00.htm

Regards - Charles

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