Tuesday, 28 August 2007

Sony Playing With Rootkit Again

Sony has again been accused of a new malware threat that deals with fingerprint-authenticating USB drives.

A F-Secure report has said that Sony's MicroVault USM-F fingerprint reading software comes with an infected USB stick. The Finnish security agency said the software inside the USD stick reportedly installs a hidden file on the user's computer and is invisible from certain antivirus scanners.

This case reflects Sony’s attempts to invade users privacy via its Sony BMG Music CDs that prompted users to install malware when the CD was played back on a PC.

However, unlike the Sony BMG case, this time Sony did not have any bad intention with the MicroVault software. F-Secure says the rootkit placement is likely just a way to make the software more secure.

The security news site also noted that Sony's MicroVault software available from Sony.net also contains the same problem.