A Legal Analysis of the Sony BMG Rootkit Debacle
,----[ Quote ]
| Two lawyers from the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology look at the Sony
| BMG Rootkit debacle: 'The Article first addresses the market-based rationales
| that likely influenced Sony BMG's deployment of these DRM systems and reveals
| that even the most charitable interpretation of Sony BMG's internal
| strategizing demonstrates a failure to adequately value security and privacy.
| After taking stock of the then-existing technological environment that both
| encouraged and enabled the distribution of these protection measures, the
| Article examines law, the third vector of influence on Sony BMG's decision to
| release flawed protection measures into the wild, and argues that existing
| doctrine in the fields of contract, intellectual property, and consumer
| protection law fails to adequately counter the technological and market
| forces that allowed a self-interested actor to inflict these harms on the
| public.' Yes, under 'even the most charitable interpretation' it was a lousy
| idea. The article also suggests some changes to the DMCA to protect consumers
| from this sort of intrusive, and security-undermining, technique in the
| future.
`----
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/12/17/0314218
Related:
Rootkit malware activity is on the up
,----[ Quote ]
| According to the Panda league of the most dangerous threats,
| February's malware includes three rootkit horrors: Bagle.HX,
| Abwiz.A and Nurech.A.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=38101
Gartner predicts rootkit trouble ahead
,----[ Quote ]
| Research analysts at Gartner are predicting a sticky web of security
| hazards for IT professionals over the next two years, ranging from
| targeted financial attacks to spyware to rootkits.
|
| Gartner released the list of threats today during its IT Security Summit
| in London, part of the company's 'hype cycle' reports that track
| technology trends. The threats, Gartner said, have a "potential to
| inflict significant damage" on businesses.
`----
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=7099
Do 1.28 Million computers have a Rootkit?
,----[ Quote ]
| So assuming like for like, the Microsoft figure of 256,000 unique
| computers with rootkits could mean, taking Symantec results into
| account, Microsoft have only found 20% of the actual number of
| computers with rootkit. Thats a staggering 1,280,000 (1.28 Million)
| computers infected with rootkits.
`----
http://www.antirootkit.com/blog/2006/11/04/do-128-million-computers-have-a-rootkit/
Double Whammy! Another Sony Case (And it's Not BioShock)
,----[ Quote ]
| We received a report that our F-Secure DeepGuard HIPS system was warning
| about a USB stick software driver. The USB stick in question has a built-in
| fingerprint reader. The case seemed unusual so we ordered a couple of USB
| sticks with fingerprint authentication. We installed the software on a test
| machine and were quite surprised to see that after installation our F-Secure
| BlackLight rootkit detector was reporting hidden files on the system.
`----
http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/#00001263
Will Microsoft Put The Colonel in the Kernel?
,----[ Quote ]
| "The kernel meets The Colonel in a just-published Microsoft patent
| application for an Advertising Services Architecture, which delivers targeted
| advertising as 'part of the OS.'
`----
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/07/14/043200
Microsoft patents the mother of all adware systems
,----[ Quote ]
| The adware framework would leave almost no data untouched in its quest to
| sell you stuff. It would inspect "user document files, user e-mail files,
| user music files, downloaded podcasts, computer settings, computer status
| messages (e.g., a low memory status or low printer ink)," and more. How could
| we have been so blind as to not see the marketing value in computer status
| messages?
`----
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070717-microsoft-patents-the-mother-of-all-adware-systems.html
German government admits it is already conducting online searches
,----[ Quote ]
| Piltz called on the German government to block funding for the
| programming of software used in online searches; she also said it
| was urgent that the government "discontinue these searches until
| the German Supreme Court has reached a ruling on the matter."
`----
http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/88895/from/rss09
|
|
