Texas sues Sony BMG for spyware violations
By Matt Daily
Mon Nov 21, 6:21 PM ET [Yahoo News]“Texas is seeking civil penalties of $100,000 per violation of the state’s Consumer Protection Against Computer Spyware Act, which was enacted earlier this year.” …
DRM= Dumb Record-company Management?
Yay SONY! you are our hero what a marketing bonanza;
“a technological version of cloak and dagger deceit against consumers by hiding secret files on their computers.”[1.]
Just in case you want to play a ‘Record Company Manager” in a game such as the SIMs, here’s a quick guide to CD DRM.
- Install a root-kit onto your users hard drives. Don’t let them know what you have done (It’s a big secret! Shhh!)
- When the public forces you to make changes, update your root-kit with an updated root-kit
- then have your root-kit used by trojans & Viruses
- Code your uninstaller in Active-X to allow other compromises/exploits
- Place a back-door into the software to monitor users
- Disable the customers hardware (CD drive) if they remove the software
- Make sure to copyright infringe Open Software by using it in your package against the licensing terms!
- Have management that don’t know WHY this is a bad thing!
You may also want to play for a trump card of being seen as a danger to National Security …
“I wanted to raise one point of caution as we go forward, because we are also responsible for maintaining the security of the information infrastructure of the United States and making sure peoples’ [and] businesses’ computers are secure. … There’s been a lot of publicity recently about tactics used in pursuing protection for music and DVD CDs in which questions have been raised about whether the protection measures install hidden files on peoples’ computers that even the system administrators can’t find.” …
… ” It’s very important to remember that it’s your intellectual property — it’s not your computer. And in the pursuit of protection of intellectual property, it’s important not to defeat or undermine the security measures that people need to adopt in these days.”
- Stewart Baker (US Department of Homeland Security’s assistant secretary for policy) [4.]
Don’t forget the important press relations …
When interviewed on the radio, the president of Sony BMG’s Global Digital Business, Thomas Hesse, said, “Most people, I think, don’t even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?””
Note to Mr. Hesse: ”Who cares?” is seldom a good response. [5.]
[1] Texas sues Sony BMG for spyware violations [REUTERS]
[2] Texas sues Sony BMG for spyware violations [Yahoo News]
[3] Muzzy’s research about Sony’s XCP DRM system
[4] DHS Official Weighs In on Sony [Washington Post]
[5] Where was Sony’s Privacy Officer? [Datamation]
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