Doubtless everyone has heard by now the saga of Sony’s rootkit DRM. On some music CDs Sony has put some Digital Rights Management (DRM) software that it said was intended to prevent copying of the music on the CD. Actually, that software also hides itself so it’s hard to find or remove, and opens several security holes, including reporting information about the user back through the Internet. Thus it resembles what is commonly called a rootkit, which is software that is designed to get root (unlimited access) and to hide the fact that it did so. Everybody from music buyers to antivirus vendors to Microsoft to the U.S. government complained to Sony, after which Sony put out an uninstall kit. But that kit turned out to open even more security holes. EFF is suing Sony. Continue reading →