New Settlement in Sony BMG Rootkit Case

Sony BMG will have to pay the price for its anti-copying software embedded in some of its CDs sold to the public. A federal court in New York has finally settled the 15 different lawsuits against the music giant, which were filed last year. The parties had charged Sony BMG for selling CDs with flawed digital management rights (DRM) software. The software’s presence was hidden by a “rootkit” which made the PC more vulnerable to viruses and other hacker attacks. The software also transmitted information about the listener’s computer use back to Sony BMG. It can be said that it was some kind of a spyware used by Sony, without the permission from its users. According to the settlement, the company has to stop manufacturing and distributing the copy-protected CDs, and has to submit the software for review to an independent security expert. The agreement covers anyone who bought, received or used CDs containing the flawed DRM software after August 1, 2003. Those customers can file a claim and receive certain benefits, such as a non-protected replacement CD, free downloads of music from that CD and additional cash payments.