IT-Sony-HackingCD<\/p>\n
JP\/17\/VISHNU<\/p>\n
New Sony music CD 'hacks' computers<\/p>\n
Vishnu K. Mahmud
\nContributor\/Jakarta
\nvmahmud@yahoo.com<\/p>\n
The Internet IT community is in an uproar over reports that a
\nnumber of new Sony BMG music CDs, such as the Van Zant Brothers'
\nironically titled Get Right With The Man, surreptitiously
\ninstalls a "spyware" program when played on a computer.<\/p>\n
Most alarmingly, this new application is completely
\nundetectable by the user, firewalls, antivirus programs and the
\nWindows operating system.<\/p>\n
The hidden application in question appears to be a part of
\nSony BMG's Digital Rights Management (DRM), a technology that
\nsome music lovers believe overly restricts their rights as owners
\nof music CDs.<\/p>\n
On the PC, the albums can only be used with a special music
\nplayer program -- included -- that also allows the creation of
\nthree copy-protected "backup" CDs. In short, DRM is used to
\nprevent casual piracy.<\/p>\n
From his investigation, Mark Russinovich, Chief Software
\nArchitect of Winternals Software, wrote in his blog
\n(www.sysinternals.com\/Blog\/) that Sony's DRM uses rootkit
\ntechnology, which Wikipedia.org defines as "a set of tools
\nfrequently used by an intruder after cracking a computer system."<\/p>\n
As such, the program, which was installed secretly, and whose
\nfunctions are unknown, is hard to find and difficult to remove.
\nWhat's more, virus and Trojan writers are now using this new Sony
\nDRM to infect more Windows systems. Mac and Linux users are, so
\nfar, not immediately affected.<\/p>\n
Changing climate<\/p>\n
The music industry has always stated that piracy is an issue
\nthat continues to drain its profits, pointing to peer-to-peer
\n(P2P) file-sharing networks as one of the major culprits. The
\nRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA.com) has even
\nfiled lawsuits against individual computer users who are
\nsuspected of "sharing" or downloading music.<\/p>\n
A majority of the suits were settled out of court since most
\npeople, whose guilt has yet to be proven, could not afford
\nexpensive legal fees against a giant, cartel-like organization.<\/p>\n
However, a paper titled The Effect of File Sharing on Record
\nSales: An Empirical Analysis (www.unc.edu\/cigar) by Associate
\nProfessors Felix Oberholzer and Koleman Strumpf from Harvard
\nBusiness School and the University of North Carolina, Chapel
\nHill, respectively, found little credence to the RIAA's claims as
\nmovies, computer software and video games are "actively
\ndownloaded, and yet these industries have continued to grow since
\nthe advent of file sharing."<\/p>\n
They also point to a change in macroeconomic conditions,
\ntransformations in the music industry, and a possible consumer
\nbacklash against the RIAA's excessive tactics.<\/p>\n
The issues facing the recording industry and other content
\npublishers are that the delivery medium to consumers has changed,
\nas has their expectations. One can simply log on to the iTunes
\nMusic Store (www.apple.com\/itunes) and purchase their music
\nonline.<\/p>\n
Although the music also is DRM-protected, Apple has the
\nperception that it does not treat customers as potential thieves
\nsince its "restrictions" seem to be more acceptable to the
\ngeneral public. Not even a month has passed since Apple
\nintroduced videos at the iTunes Store, a million has already been
\npurchased and downloaded.<\/p>\n
Inexorable rise of MP3<\/p>\n
The music industry should realize that CD players are slowly
\ngoing the way of the dodo. Small, inexpensive MP3 players from
\nKorea and China have flooded the Indonesian market, with
\nhandphone manufacturers now building in MP3 players into their
\nhandsets.<\/p>\n
With a new type of music playing device, the industry could no
\nlonger justify its old business practices of excessive marketing,
\ncostly CD pressing and rewarding only a few of its artists.<\/p>\n
With the Internet, and companies offering digital music sales,
\nindependent artists can completely bypass the middle-man (in this
\ncase, the record labels), sign up with an iTunes like service,
\nand do their own marketing, be it online, club gigs and concerts
\nor word of mouth.<\/p>\n
They are likely to receive more money than what any recording
\ncontract could offer them (unless, of course, they are considered
\nto be a marquee brand and have the full backing of the label's
\nmarketing team budget).<\/p>\n
Also with the Internet, any attempt to circumvent any rights
\nof users and consumers will be unmasked and made public by the
\ntechnological priesthood of hackers and IT analysts around the
\nworld, highlighting the fact that consumers (as well as artists)
\nare getting smarter.<\/p>\n
In this new digital era, such heavy-handed tactics will only
\ndistance a company from its target market.<\/p>\n
There have been a number of angry responses online calling for
\nthe boycott of Sony BMG products, with many others questioning
\nthe wisdom of purchasing other Sony brands, such as the PSP or
\nthe upcoming PS3. Lawsuits have even begun to be considered in
\nthe U.S.<\/p>\n
One can therefore conclude that it is vital for businesses to
\nengage consumers, not alienate them.<\/p>\n
(Since this article was written the BBC has reported that Sony
\nhas announced that it will suspend production of CDs with anti-
\npiracy software that can leave computers vulnerable to viruses)<\/p>",
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