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Sony RootKit Still A Problem?
Posted by
CmdrTaco
on Tue Jan 17, 2006 11:12 AM
from the this-stuff-never-dies dept.
from the this-stuff-never-dies dept.
XMilkProject writes "Current research indicates that some "350,000 networks--many belonging to the military and government--contain computers affected by [Sony's rootkit]." This is down from over half a million last month. "The security researcher worked from a list of 9 million domain-name servers.. asking each to look up whether an address used by the XCP software--in this case, xcpimages.sonybmg.com--was in the systems' caches." Will Sony face future repercussions for this potentially long-term damage?"
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Your Rights Online: Sony Sues Rootkit Maker 334 comments
flyboy974 writes "Sony BMG Music Entertainment is suing the company that developed anti-piracy software for its CDs, claiming the technology was defective and cost the record company millions of dollars to settle consumer complaints and government investigations. The software in question is the MediaMax CD protection system, widely derided as a rootkit. Sony BMG is seeking to recover some $12 million in damages from the Phoenix-based technology company, according to court papers filed July 3."
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Safe.. (Score:5, Funny)
Makes you wonder.... (Score:4, Interesting)
Makes me sleep better, on the other hand, to see that there are music lovers even there.
You know how the saying goes: Where one sings you may sit down and sing along, bad people have no song.
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Re:Makes you wonder.... (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:Makes you wonder.... (Score:5, Interesting)
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exactly correct (Score:5, Interesting)
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Re:exactly correct (Score:4, Insightful)
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Re:Makes you wonder.... (Score:3, Insightful)
There's a flaw in that logic somewhere, but I can't put my finger on it...
Re:Makes you wonder.... (Score:3, Funny)
While you're down there, pass me up Sony's reputation, will you? :-)
Re:Makes you wonder.... (Score:5, Insightful)
Once upon a time, bringing in the CD would have been the safest way to listen to music. Nothing can be copied to a CD, and nothing could be brought in on a pressed CD other than music. Nothing for Military Security to be worried about. Ipods and other MP3 players could potentially be used to sneak data out.
Of course now with the DRM crap on the "CD", this is no longer true. The once friendly store bought CD is now a potential risk. Way to go Music Industry! And you wonder why sales are down in 2005 from 2004...besides crappy offerings.
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Re:Makes you wonder.... (Score:3, Insightful)
They might as well change their name to (Score:5, Funny)
Get Back On Our Own - Boycott Sony (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm to the point now watching this rediculous attempt from Sony to attach it's controls on something that I purchase the rights to use/listen/backup and trying to enforce through deviant means. What is this rootkit supposed to do!? They just wanted to install it for the Hell Of It? Nope, it's supposed to reinforce their stupid DRM bullshit and keep me from listening to the music that I paid for. I'm to the end of my rope. I think that there needs to be a group or mutiple groups put together that should purposefully break what Sony is trying to do. I've been years out of the programming/Computer industry and thus lack the skills to do it, but I think that we should form Anti-DRM, anti-Sony groups to demolish the protection that they put on their stupid CD's. I will not from this day forward purchase anymore music from Sony until they drop their Bullshit practices. I call for a Boycot of Sony's Music. I'm not sure what one man can start, but I'll be damned if I'm going to stand around any longer and watch Sony impose itself on me! They want me to buy their shit, then they want to enforce by deviance their policy, and after all that they hijack my PC for WHo knows what! Ahhh! Time for a Revolution. I love my PS2, but am refusing to play it again until SONY stops all this Bullshit! No more video games purchased either. Damn you Sony! Leave me the Hell alone! Stay off of my Computer and my CD's! Damn you!
With that said, I feel somewhat better, but am still disturbed deep inside that they would have to stoop to that level to try and enforce their protection. Maybe they don't realize that as the sound comes out of the speakers it can be recorded with a MIC and pirated that way, or through LINE OUT. Damn them. Rant Over.
Re:Get Back On Our Own - Boycott Sony (Score:5, Funny)
Demand compensation (for petrol to get there), the money to fix it and if they refuse tell them you'll take them to court for the damages (claim the box was used for something important like hosting websites and the rootkit has not passed some safety tests that all servers must pass at your company).
Aww the fun of being a sick little geek
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Re:Get Back On Our Own - Boycott Sony (Score:3, Insightful)
But then, the division that makes the PS2 is fairly disparate within the company from the one you're attempting to hurt. But then you've already admitted that you don't buy CD's, the record company couldn't really care less about you. Still- why attempt to harm the folks within the company who make a cool product for th
The quote that sums it up (Score:5, Interesting)
"While the security issues related to the copy-protection software have apparently affected U.S. government and military computers, the Department of Justice will not likely get involved, said Jennifer Granick, executive director of the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School.
"I don't see the federal government suing a big company like Sony," she said. "The fact that military networks have likely been affected by this won't change that."
I for one, welcome our new corporate overlords. (Score:4, Funny)
The answer is clear. The U.S. must invade Japan to overthrow the government responsible for this cyber terrorism.
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Apology? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Apology? (Score:4, Interesting)
http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20051117
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Repercussions? Nah. (Score:3, Insightful)
Probably not. They're already getting off somewhat easy for the original hubub.
Settled too soon. (Score:5, Insightful)
If you look at the settlement in the New York District court it is nothing more than a slap on the wrist. Sony knowingly infected computers with what amounts to a trojan horse. In return they have to pay a little money and promise not to do it again. That's insane when you consider the witch hunts that have taken place for 16 year-old kids releasing a virus. Sony needs to pay and pay dearly for their deliberate criminal actions. The government always wants to send hackers a strong message...well then the same applies to corporations!
http://religiousfreaks.com/ [religiousfreaks.com]You obviously didn't read the settlement (Score:4, Informative)
- A $5 limit on damages
- The requirement that you must sue Sony in New York
Once the settlement is official, Sony will have opened themselves up, such that they can be sued in court anywhere in the United States.Small claims court is the most likely venue, because you don't really need a lawyer to represent yourself and if Sony doesn't send a representative, you get a default judgement.
Collecting might be a bitch, but in this case, it definitely won't be the lawyers making all the money.
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I'm not sure how the EULA is relevant... (Score:3, Insightful)
Repurcussions? No. (Score:4, Insightful)
"Will Sony face future repercussions for this potentially long-term damage?"
No they won't because they're a huge multinational corporation who will probably layoff some employees and reward their top execs from the whole ordeal. I'm not trying to be some hippie about this, it's just the way the world works.
Sony's unintended consequences hurts them (Score:5, Interesting)
(I have applied them to Sony's decision to use rootkits)
1. Ignorance (It is impossible for Sony to anticipate everything.)
2. Error (Incomplete analysis of the rootkit problem, or following habits that worked in the past but may not apply to the current situation.)
3. Immediate interest in stopping a computer from copying something, may override long-term interests of sustaining their reputation as honest and trustworthy.
4. Basic values of trusting your customers may require or prohibit certain actions like installing a rootkit, even if the long-term result might be unfavorable. (These long-term consequences may eventually cause changes in those same basic values.)
5. Installing malware on people's computers is always a self-defeating prophesy (Fear of some consequence drives people to find solutions before the problem occurs, thus the non-occurrence of the problem is unanticipated.)
Re:Sony's unintended consequences hurts them (Score:3, Interesting)
2. Error (Incomplete analysis of the rootkit problem, or following habits that worked in the past but may not apply to the current situation.)
3. Immediate interest in stopping a computer from copying something, may override long-term interests of sustaining their reputation as honest and trustworthy.
4. Basic values of trusting your customers may require or prohibit certain actions like installing a rootkit, even if the long-term result might
Simple answer.. (Score:3, Insightful)
Of course not. They may pay a (relatively) small fine or two, but a quick a donation to a politician here and there, and that'll be all she wrote.
Government and Military (Score:4, Interesting)
In all odds the machines they're talking about are your typical office machines, used mostly for clerical work. Your network admin might not really worry or care about someone screwing it up; in all odds the people using them don't know enough to mess stuff up that badly.
I think all this is going to entail is the IT divisions of the important branches of the US government running rebuilds a little ahead of schedule...
Sony won't be harmed, users will (Score:5, Interesting)
Sony won't be harmed at all. But since this incident an Air Force unit I used to belong to can no play music cd's on computers. Doing so can result in corporal punishment.
Re:Sony won't be harmed, users will (Score:3, Funny)
Doing so can result in corporal punishment.
Typical military! Meanwhile, the sergeants, lieutenants, captains, colonels and generals can do whatever they please.
Re: Sony won't be harmed, users will (Score:3, Funny)
Yeah, and they have a "don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding whether you like it, too.
Re:Sony won't be harmed, users will (Score:3, Informative)
Problem not eliminated (Score:4, Insightful)
I personally have seen this at several Borders stores in my area, and each time I mention this to the management I recieve blank "deer in the headlights" looks.
Re:Problem not eliminated (Score:5, Insightful)
The retail checkout line is not the place to wage these types of battles.
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Re:Problem not eliminated (Score:3, Informative)
While the person replying said "checkout line", the original post still makes sense.
Re:Problem not eliminated (Score:4, Insightful)
This battle is one of propaganda as much as anything else. If you use the enemy's terminology, you've already lost.
These are rootkit infected CDs. Use that phrase in conversation with your non-techie friends. 'Damn, I got an infected CD from Sony.' They'll not grasp all the geek details, but they'll get the picture.
Similarly, call what it is trying to do 'Digital Restrictions Management' whenever you have to explain what 'DRM' is. It's a far truer portrayal of what's going on.
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Sony, the new ELO? (Score:5, Funny)
\\//_
End result (Score:5, Insightful)
Sony == Dangerous to my PC
What a great way to promote a brand.
Sadly, no. (Score:5, Insightful)
If consumers were smart, they'd go buy a Nintendo Revolution - or even an Xbox - and intentionally skip the next Playstation. Unfortunately, they won't, because their souls are fueled by acquisition and shiny-new-toy syndrome.
Nah they will get off scott free (Score:3, Insightful)
See Sony does things like this and its called a mistake. A hacker does something much less, and its call terrorism. Go USA!
Governement PCs (Score:3, Interesting)
I used to do assistant net admn in the armed forces, and it's amazing how little security there is on most military computer networks. They don't allow DHCP, but as the admin I found that there were no lockdowns on installing software like AIM and such. Only problem was, network security was dictated by higher commands, so I could do nothing but watchdog the system.
So it's really no suprise to me to so this rootkit affecting so many military and government compys, given their lack of conecern about system security.
Re:Governement PCs (Score:3, Funny)
Pwned (Score:4, Funny)
Your new Sony-BMG non-standards compliant music disc contains the Pwned.exe wonderful pretty music player. Click here to hear the music you've already paid for. Remember, you cannot return opened CD's for any refund. Have a nice day!
Never made sense (Score:4, Interesting)
"Even more interesting is that there may be at least half a million infected computers... I say 'may be at least' because the data doesn't smell right to me. Look at the list of infected titles, and estimate what percentage of CD buyers will play them on their computers; does that seem like half a million sales to you? It doesn't to me, although I readily admit that I don't know the music business."
As Schneir notes, these are not big selling CDs. Here is the list from the EFF link above:While Dan Kaminsky's methodology seems basically sound, if the results don't add up it suggests that there is something else going on. Maybe somehow each computer queried more than one DNS server, or some similar effect occured to artifically inflate the number of computers he is counting.
Boycott *ALL* Sony products ... (Score:3)
Yes, I know that SONY is a huge company with lots of independent decisions. But it's all one corporation, and it needs to feel pain for this stupidity. Its size just gives us more opportunities to boycott it. No Sony tapes, no Sony TVs, no Sony cameras, no SONY nothing until this year is over.
The boycott needs to be for a limited time; that's why I said a year. If we never start buying from them again, then they lost us no matter what. If the boycott is for a finite time, then they know they can sell to us again ---- as long as they don't repeat this silliness. If they do, they should expect more pain.
Re:Boycott *ALL* Sony products ... (Score:3)
The right thing: (Score:3, Insightful)
If all of this "cloaking" crap were to be made irrelevant, then these kinds of things would no longer be a security issue - it would return administrative control over machines to the machine's owner. Whether that's Symantec's cloaking for their recycle bin, or whether it's Sony's rootkit, or anything else.
Computer owners don't need a corporate nanny protecting them from shooting themselves in the foot. Good software design does that. Not sneak tactics.
Of Course, that is Sony's Security Policy (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Of Course, that is Sony's Security Policy (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:Nothing for you to see here. Please move along. (Score:3, Funny)
Re:How-to? (Score:4, Informative)
[root@kryten pete]# nslookup
> set norecurse
> www.xmob.co.uk
Server: 192.168.0.1
Address: 192.168.0.1#53
Name: www.xmob.co.uk
Address: 217.77.184.55
> www.microsoft.com
Server: 192.168.0.1
Address: 192.168.0.1#53
Non-authoritative answer:
*** Can't find www.microsoft.com: No answer
>
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