Sony screws up bigtime

16 November, 2005

It just gets worse and worse for Sony. You have to give a company credit that invents the walkman, playstation, psp... but I think their department of stupidity must have got a funding boost recently as they have been pumping out some real crackers.

Breifly; When you listen to a Sony music CD that has the DRM software on it, the CD automatically installs on your PC a DRM Rootkit. Now this rootkit can be used by hackers to hide their tracks, so sony issues a removal tool, that leaves a big security hole. If that wasn't enough, the Sony rootkit - designed to stop copyright infringement, is itself infringing on copyright - yes they stole code to make their rootkit.

All this according BoingBoing which has a more complete timeline roundup - part one and part two of the recent events.

Now this is just the latest saga for Sony, but not the first. Here in New Zealand, format shifting ( copying a CD to an mp3 player for example ) is illegal, and Sony is against changing the law to allow this, while at the same time selling mp3 players that can't be legally used to listen to sony music bought in NZ.

This from an interview last year, as transcribed by aardvark.co.nz

"We're not against copying" he said, "we've never had an issue with people shifting their music say to their IPOD or even to their car."

He added however, that "if this law change is made it threatens our [the NZ recording industry's] whole existence".

At one point Linda Clark asked "How do you use a CD burner legally?"

To which Gladding replied "We do realise that this is a technical breach of the law."

Clark also asserted "So you sell a gadget when you know the only way people can use that gadget is to break the law"

To which Gladding replied: "yes"

Good one Sony!

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