A computer security expert claims he has evidence that Sony's DRM rootkit nonsense is installed on some 500,000 systems.
Dan Kaminsky, an independent security researcher, discovered evidence that so-called "rootkit" style stealth programs developed by U.K. firm First 4 Internet Ltd. and used by Sony while conducting an audit of the DNS (Domain Name System) infrastructure. Sony BMG has declined past requests to comment on the number of systems that run the software, known as XCP. However, Kaminsky's figures, if true, suggest that the software, which shipped on CDs by just 20 Sony BMG artists, has already been distributed and installed widely around the world.
This whole sorry affair is seriously bad news for Sony - its been a massive backfire. Already, Microsoft have had to step in and try and do something, considering that Sony's DRM rootkit is already being used for malware! The whole thing has been a PR disaster for them, during a time when they are fighting the next generation DVD format wars.