EFF and Sony Disclose New DRM Security Hole 258
Dotnaught writes "The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and SONY BMG Music Entertainment said on Tuesday that SunnComm is offering a patch to fix a security vulnerability with its MediaMax Version 5 content protection software on 27 SONY BMG CDs. Security firm iSEC Partners discovered the hole following a request by the EFF to examine the SunnComm software. The vulnerability involves a directory installed on users' computers by the MediaMax software that could allow a third party to gain control over the affected Windows PC. The EFF and iSEC delayed disclosing the problem until SunnComm could develop a fix."
yes we all know (Score:4, Funny)
Sue the bastards and get it over with.
Re:yes we all know (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.boycottsony.us/ [boycottsony.us] has the latest news on developments in the Sony case, and www.sonysuit.com lists the lawsuits.
A New lawsuit for Candians is being opened by http://www.glynhotz.com/ [glynhotz.com] an Ontario lawyer. The XCP CDs appear to still be on many store shelves, more than a week after the recall was announced in Canada.
Useful indeed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Useful indeed (Score:2)
Perhaps not (Was Re:Useful indeed) (Score:5, Insightful)
From EFF: "We're pleased that SONY BMG responded quickly and responsibly when we drew their attention to this security problem," said EFF staff attorney Kurt Opsahl. "Consumers should take immediate steps to protect their computers."
As if Sony, which already has a boatload of negative publicity, could do anything else. I think even the stuffed shirts there must now realize that they can't let anything else fall through the cracks or their music business might collapse. Don't be surprised in Sony divests itself of BMG music at some point in the future, to keep from losing customers for its home electronics business.
Re:Perhaps not (Was Re:Useful indeed) (Score:5, Insightful)
"Users don't know what a rootkit is so why should they care"
to
"We are taking the concerns of our customers very seriously, blahblahblah"
Could it be that Mr. Hesse is full of shit?
Re:Perhaps not (Was Re:Useful indeed) (Score:5, Funny)
Is he a corporate executive?
Re:Perhaps not (Was Re:Useful indeed) (Score:5, Interesting)
They already lost me. And when a company loses my business, they lose it permanently.
I had a Technics CD player in the mid-80's that had to be fixed repeatedly for the same problem under warranty. When the problem recurred shortly after the unit went out of warranty and they refused to fix or replace it, I sent a polite letter to the head of Panasonic USA explaining the situation and telling them that if they didn't replace the unit I'd never buy a another Panasonic product. They declined to fix or replace the unit and twenty years later, I still don't have another Panasonic product.
You can be sure that there will never be a Sony product in my house in the future.
Of course, this could be their attempt to implement DRM by fear. If your PC gets compromised every time you put a Sony audio disk in the drive, maybe you'll stop doing it. If you don't put the CD in your PC, they don't have to worry about you copying it.
Re:Perhaps not (Was Re:Useful indeed) (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Perhaps not (Was Re:Useful indeed) (Score:4, Insightful)
Why, because Sony's other electronics shops won't be including any DRM built in, like DRM on HDMI and new high def TVs, DRM in new Blu-Ray DVD players, DRM in game machines and on game discs, DRM on Blu-Ray discs... I can almost guarentee that some of this DRM will prevent users from using the content they purchase the way they want to use it. Sony needs not to divest itself of BMG as a solution, because the problem exists at a much higher level - the perception that DRM is a "Good Thing." Until they resolve THAT issue, Sony is in for some hurt.
Re:Everyone should have known... (Score:3, Funny)
No way that article was serious (Score:2)
Here is the Register'
Re:No way that article was serious (Score:3, Insightful)
Assume the Position (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Assume the Position (Score:5, Funny)
I really don't want to know what the plug for the hole looks like.
Re:Assume the Position (Score:3, Funny)
Quick Question... (Score:5, Interesting)
Their software phones home and cripples your computer. Would anyone here actually trust them?
Re:Quick Question... (Score:5, Insightful)
Most of the victims have no idea that they're installing software on their computer. They're just playing a CD that they bought.
We geeks and nerds on
Blame the criminals, not their victims.
Re:Quick Question... (Score:2)
you mean when I download a program from the CD to my computer?
Re:Quick Question... (Score:5, Insightful)
Ah, but the great majority of victims of the first Sony rootkit still have it installed. They haven't heard about the problem, or head and didn't understand at all. If you take a look at the removal instructions, you'll see that there isn't a chance that your typical Joe Sixpack could ever follow them. If he tried, the result would probably be a machine that didn't boot.
But most of the victims haven't tried to remove it, because they don't have any idea it's there.
You might well hire the burglar if you had no clues that he was the burglar, and if friends and the BBB recommended him. This is an old sort of scam.
Re:Quick Question... (Score:2)
Re:Quick Question... (Score:3, Insightful)
Reliance on binaries WITH source is blind faith, too, if you can't read hundreds of thousands of lines of source yourself, since taking someone else's word for it is just as much "blind" faith.
That's the answer! Only unemployed programmers should use computers!
Re:Quick Question... (Score:2)
How can they be sure that there isn't some nasty spyware in the hardware or federal agents in the house across the street reading your screen contents with an electro-magneto-view'o'scope? Personally I think that everyone should live along in wooden shacks in the middle of nowhere. The only reason to leave the house is to buy supplies and post a few pipe bombs.
Re:Quick Question... (Score:3, Insightful)
In Japan.
Across the water.
Yes really.
Thank you Sony! (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Thank you Sony! (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Thank you Sony! (Score:3, Insightful)
Antivirus software reporting the Sony DRM software as a virus should take care of that.
Oh yes, and popular DJ's on national radio should warn their audience about the Sony DRM shit^H^H^Hoftware.
Re:Thank you Sony! (Score:2)
Yeah, because it makes perfect sense for them to tell people to boycott one of the companies that pay their bills... *rolls eyes*
Re:Thank you Sony! (Score:2)
I don't know about the US, but here in the UK, most commercial radio stations seem to be funded by the ad placements, not the recording industry. They do need a special kind of licence to play the music over the air, though, and presumably the copyright holder could deny them permission to do it.
Re:Thank you Sony! (Score:2)
Re:Thank you Sony! (Score:2)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8700936/ [msn.com]
Re:Thank you Sony! (Score:2)
Re:Thank you Sony! (Score:3, Informative)
I dunno about the media where you are, but up here in Québec, the Sony DRM screwup made the evening news bulletin on more than one occasion on two of the most watched channels, even clearly stating that the music CD's installed spyware without your agreement. Although not everybody knows what a rootkit i
Build it into the OS (Score:3, Funny)
software, and some of these will constitute a security threat.
Surely the solution is obvious. If they built DRM software directly into the
operating system, then it could be happily updated with all the rest of the
software, using whatever update mechanisms your OS provides.
I'm sure that the security minded folks on slashdot will be the first to
support a legal requirement for DRM in all OS'es, so that we can solve this
problem before it becomes really serious.
Phil
Re:Build it into the OS (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Build it into the OS (Score:5, Insightful)
DRM software has to do more than regular software to prevent users from circumventing it, with the latest craze being OS hooks.
Insecure software + OS hooks = HUGE security risks.
If you ever want to release a worm that takes advantage of a DRM security hole, just put it on a web site that tells you how to disable that particular DRM. People will google for a way to disable their DRM, go to your site, and WHAM.
You know someone will do this. :) (Score:2)
Re:Build it into the OS (Score:2)
* applauds *
Bravo! It's been far too long since I've seen a really good troll on /. - too many people think it's sufficient to copy and paste classic trolls of the past, or don't understand trolling and just post obscenities and flamebait, so it's wonderful to see a new, proper troll from time to time.
Good trolling
Re:Build it into the OS (Score:2)
Sorry to be rude (Score:5, Insightful)
Way to go Sony , you truly are a bunch of arse-holes .
Well at least if this gets major press coverage it may cause an even large headache to ever encroaching wave DRM
Did you catch the best part? (Score:4, Interesting)
"Sony said it will notify customers though a banner advertisement directly in the SunnComm software"
So now you get banner ads with your audio cd+DRM.
Nice.
Re:Sorry to be rude (Score:2, Informative)
If you have have any of these CD's, return them. If you're a fan of any of these artists, write them a letter:
Trey Anastasio, Shine (Columbia)
Celine Dion, On ne Change Pas (Epic)
Neil Diamond, 12 Songs (Columbia)
Our Lady Peace, Healthy in Paranoid Times (Columbia)
Chris Botti, To Love Again (Columbia)
Van Zant, Get Right with the Man (Columbia)
Switchfoot, Nothing is Sound (Columbia)
The Coral, Th
Effective DRM (Score:5, Funny)
the paranoid ac (Score:2, Interesting)
I've never understood how any userland bullshit software could manage the complexities of opening up a hole *on accident*. Call me paranoid, but, when shit like this gets 'found', they call it being 'found' because someone put it there.
Re:the paranoid ac (Score:4, Informative)
To install the software originally the user had to be an administrator (a lot of software requires admin rights because most of the system won't allow a basic user to install system-wide software. e.g. It could add files in your user directory and the like, but not in Program Files). From then on the software is running as System, operating as a part of the system (which is why it's called a root kit).
My guess is that the folder where the software is stored has the ACLs set to Everyone with Full Control, or something similar. Because this root kit is run as System when the system boots up, a simple user exploit could circumvent user isolation by overwriting some of the rootkit files, and on next boot it'll be running as System, with full local permissions.
Re:the paranoid ac (Score:2)
Re:the paranoid ac (Score:3, Interesting)
Hey, Paranoid, you're not paranoid enough.
I keep noticing the same misuse of the passive voice to avoid saying who's to blame. As a programmer, it's perfectly obvious to me that no computer ever installs software by accident. It takes some significant software to install something like this, and (as the Intelligent Design folks like to point out), this software doesn't get there by random flipp
Re:the paranoid ac (Score:3, Insightful)
I have posted this before - almost always it isn't an INTERNET worm, it is a MICROSOFT I.E. worm, it isn't an EMAIL virus, it is a MICROSOFT OUTLOOK e
Revised titles for Sony Rootkit CDs (Score:5, Funny)
Alicia Keys - Unplugged, but still Infected
Amici - Forever Defined as Dishonest
Britney Spears - Hitme, but Don't RipMe
Cassidy - I'm A Hustla in Your PC
David Gray - Life In Slow Motion Since your PC has a Rootkit
Faithless - Forever Faithless Sony
Imogen Heap - Speak For Yourself, I Love Rootkits
Leo Kottke/Mike Gordon - Sixty Six Steps to Uninstall the Rootkit
Raheem Devaughn - The Hate Experience
Santana - All That I Am Allowed to Copy
Stellastarr* - Harmonies for the Haunted PC
Various - So Annoying: An All Star Tribute To Rootkits
Wakefield - Which Side Are You On? Sony or the Public?
YoungBloodZ - Everybody Know Me, Nobody Copy Me
You know... (Score:2)
Maybe I should spend some time listening to some top-40 radios. But then again, maybe not.
Re:You know... (Score:3, Interesting)
You might wanna check out last.fm [last.fm] instead. Not exactly to get more top-40-ish in your musical taste, but to find all sorts of cool music you would never come across otherwise. Just type the names of those bands you don't know into their interface, and listen to some preview tracks. Or let them analyze your listening habits and suggest music to you. They even give you your own personalized radio station.
No, I'
Not just age, also artificial narrowing of choices (Score:5, Informative)
I think that you missed the poster's point, since you mention old pop chart stars. The problem isn't that today's pop charts don't feature yesterday's pop chart music nor soundalikes --- expecting that would be totally dumb.
The problem is that today the music scene is ruled 99% by the pop charts as a result of the ruthless efficiency of the Big Business side of the music industry, to the extent that almost all other musical styles are marginalized to near extinction. Musicians no longer come out of art school wanting to do something novel for their own niche audience; greed has overcome artistic integrity.
Back in the day, the studios and labels were comparatively amateurish and ineffective, so public tastes were strongly influenced by radio station jockeys, through student union gigs/concerts, and by music tabloid reviews of live acts. These have almost no effect today. The image makers and immense marketting machine hold the scene in a vice-like grip.
So it's not old age, only. It's also that musical horizons have been slammed down tight all around us, with only a few wonderful exceptions to the rule offering a temporary escape.
Here's another (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Here's another (Score:2)
I wonder.. (Score:5, Interesting)
No more money for Sony (Score:5, Insightful)
Great, now not only do I have to make sure all my users' applications are patched, but I have to track patches on every frigging DRM implementation out there as well.
Well, payback is a bitch.
I have already steered a friend away from a Sony stereo to another brand, making it clear that Sony is not a good "citizen" and they would do well to stay clear of any Sony products.
Yes, I am only one puny person, but I've already cost them a couple of hundred bucks, and will continue do so at every opportunity.
Re:No more money for Sony (Score:2)
What makes you think Sony's Electronics division has anything to do with Sony's Music Label?
I am thoroughly against Windows in general principle, and while I don't own one--I cerainly don't advise people against buying an XBOX simply because they have the same corporate label as Windows.
Some people need to grow up and put their
bollocks (Score:2)
Re:No more money for Sony (Score:3, Interesting)
Sony needs to see hardware as a source of potential profits, and music, (especially DRM'ed music), as a source of losses that threaten to drag the whole company down. The lawsuits already filed and in process will definitely do that, if they d
Re:No more money for Sony (Score:2)
Onion article (Score:4, Insightful)
Now lets see (Score:4, Insightful)
Or
Sit here and rip the whole thing off the net for free and burn it to CD and copy it to my IPod.Yeah DRM is a great way to stop piracy.Maybe they should try offering value for money instead.
The only real fix ... (Score:4, Insightful)
Frankly, I want to see a major mea culpa from Sony on just about every TV and radio station that targets the audience from all of those DRMed audio CDs complete with previous said instructions and a promise (that will be kept) that such DRM techniques will never be used in the future.
Considering that even artists themselves are starting to fight back against DRM stating that it does nothing but hurt the fans, which is true, it's about time for the heads of these companies to realize that Sony has crossed the line and that DRM for audio CDs is not only useless but can have dire consequences. I'm not going to use that silly "information wants to be free" dogma that is used too often on
Maybe they should - gasp! - try adding value that the customer wants and cannot get over the Internet through downloading rather than trying to add chains to a product that we want to legally buy. For example:
* Buy the CD and get the concert DVD for 1/2 price
* Buy the CD and get a discount on concert tickets and merchandise
* Buy the CD and accumulate points that can be redeemed for other items
Tactics like these, where items that cannot be downloaded are offered as incentive, is a much better alternative to increase sales than pissing off the customer base by nefarious methods such as DRM. This is particularly true because DRM can be defeated by one simple method: CD line out --> PC line in.
In short, make it worth my while to buy the CD and not download it. DRM, particularly the kind that Sony implemented, does the opposite.
Re:The only real fix ... (Score:2)
Re:The only real fix ... (Score:2)
Re:The only real fix ... (Score:2)
You wish to redefine "pedantic", I take it? (Score:2)
A. With good cables and equipment, the dreaded "analog" copy will be just as good as the digital copy. {Insert various analog/digital arguments here.}
B. DRM is still GONE. You made a CD via wave or MP3s files. Therefore, you made a duplicate of the CD without DRM. Ergo, DRM is defeated. No, it's not a precious 1:1 copy that you anti-analog types like to espouse; however, it is still a completely legitimate copy of that CD without DRM.
Sheesh.
iSecPartners (Score:3, Informative)
iSec Partners are all ex-@stake (Score:2)
Funny but I feel safer with "disreputable" sources (Score:5, Interesting)
The other farce in this fiasco is that these methods of protection are so easy to defeat that "anyone" who actually uploads music would not be slowed down for even a second.
So we have an extreme example of a rights denial system that penalizes in the extreme the clueless who never were going to upload anyway, and does nothing, not one iota, to stop uploaders.
Earth to idiots at corp HQ. Sony will feel the pain for years to come on this one. If I were an artist, I would be looking for a "no DRM" clause in my contracts when dealing with these morons.
EFF (Score:5, Funny)
Sony Software (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Sony Software (Score:2)
Re:Sony Software (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Sony Software (Score:4, Funny)
50 Titles, not 27 (Score:2)
http://www.sonybmg.com/mediamax/titles.html [sonybmg.com]
Wake up Artists (Score:2, Informative)
That should solve a lot of problems.
The patch is flawed (Score:2, Insightful)
The gist of this press release is that I now have to keep a list of all the titles that might be affected just in case I, or anyone in my family decides to buy a MediaMax protected CD (or are given one as a gift) - Yes you can still buy a flawed CD. Even if Sony issues a recall on ALL affected CDs that does not give me 100% protection from this mess.
I now have to keep monitoring my PC forever more in case someon
Re:The patch is flawed (Score:2)
Spread the word, CDs make crappy presents [whatacrappypresent.com].
If somebody gives you a CD for Xmas, simply refuse it like you would a moldy fruitcake.
FWiW, I'm yet another person who'll never buy anything from Sony, ever again.
Doubly Screwed (Score:4, Insightful)
It's this kind of backlash now that is bustin Sony, because anything they put out from now on better be bullet-proof, or else it will wind up being counterproductive
Big List of DRM CDs? (Score:2)
I would like to know so that I can make sure my dollars don't go to DRMed CDs.
JOhn
Re:Big List of DRM CDs? (Score:3, Informative)
MediaMax titles @Sony BMG [sonybmg.com] website
XCP titles @SonyBMG [sonybmg.com] website
Not far enough (Score:2, Funny)
Of course this is a needed step for the "average joe" out there that didn't even know he got a malicious rootkit for free when playing a cd on his pc, but then again, does this aver
DRM (Score:4, Funny)
Some doctors used to recommend cigarettes.
Apple/iTunes - "the Safe way to buy music" (Score:2)
Re:Apple/iTunes - "the Safe way to buy music" LESS (Score:3, Insightful)
I think I should be paying less than in-store retail when I download my CD album. After all, in addition to the content I'm paying for my bandwidth to download it, my time in downloading, my hard drive space to store it on, any cover art or inserts that I have to print myself, as well as the blank CD I burn to play it outside of my computer and the jewel case
How About a Removal Tool Instead! (Score:2, Informative)
Third party? (Score:4, Funny)
This is Windows we're talking about; I wouldn't be surprised if we're on to the seventh or eighty party by now.
Gives electronics arm of Sony more power (Score:2)
With the media arm somewhat shamed, the electronics arm has a stronger case for doing things that are bit more open.
One thing that isn't clear in this announcement: (Score:4, Interesting)
Does this mean that once the SunnComm DRM software is patched it will go back to working as designed -- that is, do the DRM restrictions continue to constrain the end users' freedoms to use the music? Is the SunnComm software "fixed" or removed?
I would have been happier to have heard they designed a removal tool.
*grumblecakes*
The Hits Just Keep On Coming (Score:4, Insightful)
I am still waiting to see how you patch a CD -- short of replacing it entirely, that is.
For now, I wouldn't trust Sony to patch my Tinkertoys properly, let alone my computer.
Seems to be some confusion here... (Score:4, Insightful)
This is not the "rootkit" DRM software that were talking about here. This is the other DRM crapware that Sony/BMG has on its discs. I buy a moderate amount of music on CDs, then rip them to MP3s to play on my Rio and car stereo. I was planning to buy Carlos Santana's new disc when this whole flap came up. I checked, saw that Santana wasn't on the rootkit list, and briefly considered buying it, although I have avoided all DRMed music to this point. No worries, I'll rip it on my Linux box anyway.
I changed my mind, and I'm glad I did. One less bit of malware in the stream of commerce. I did go to Carlos' website and told them I had decided not to buy the disc and why. From the notes there, it seems they have been getting a lot of that. This may be the most effective way to deal with this issue. Tell the artists that you will not buy their art, if it comes packaged with such crap.
Confusing the Consumer (Score:5, Interesting)
The response was, "Which one do you want".
The clerk knew of the issue. He even helped me confirm that the catalog number for the disk was a match. The titles were still on the shelves for sale. The store was replacing the disks as new disks came in from Sony.
Two out of three record stores that I checked that day had the titles available for purchase.
This is a recall?
Also, it is not as if you can look on the spine of the CD to find out that it is a Sony disk. These disks are sold under other label names. I believe that the one I got was an Electra. Sony/BMG is in the really fine print on the back, as well as the XPC URL.
Patch suffers from same security flaws... (Score:3, Informative)
Don't see any mention of this on the entire last page of comments listed most recently first, so I figured it was worth risking a possible karma hit for duplication.
It seems Sony and SunComm just can't come up with a "real" fix to save their lives.
Re:Bad Music (Score:3)
I may not like most of the music there and can see your point
Re:Bad Music (Score:4, Funny)
You must be new here.
Re:Bad Music (Score:3, Funny)
On romantic evenings I turn off the music to make sure no one's home.
Re:Bad Music (Score:2)
Bueno pa gosar myself
Re:Bad Music (Score:2)
Re:Bad Music (Score:3, Funny)
Wow, a woman with a fast car [biyn.com], uses Linux [biyn.com], AND a sharp sense of humour... No doubt about it, you must be very ugly :D
(kidding, only kidding!)