Sony Rootkit mk2
Sony lost a lot of credibility when its music CDs were found to contain a rootkit virus. Those who purchased Sony’s products legally would have their computers infected, whereas those who downloaded them for free would (as with all DRM) get a better deal than those who paid.
Apparently not content with destroying customers’ computers with music CDs and fire, Sony has managed to arse-up yet another segment of its once-revered product lineup. The MicroVault USB sticks - which justify costing many times more than competitor products with their ‘fingerprint reader’ security - use an incompetent rootkit as part of their security suite. Like XCP, the Micro Vault rootkit could allow malicious hackers easier access to an infected PC. As with the XCP fiasco Sony did not reply to the security researchers who initially informed them privately - as is the ‘done thing’ in these sorts of situations.
Just in case people thought that it might be safe to buy Sony products again - here’s the evidence you were probably hoping didn’t exist.
Tags: Computers and Internet, DRM, Micro Vault, Rootkit, Sony, XCP