More on the ongoing 'rootkit' debacle over at SonyBMG. As previously reported, SonyBMG put an anti-piracy technology (called 'rootkit' by techie types) on fifty odd US album releases which has subsequently been shown to put consumer's computers at greater risk of virus attack. The major record company has recalled all CDs that contain the software.
The new woes relate to how effective (or not) that recall has been. As previously reported, the Texas attorney general Greg Abbott has started legal action against the major after discovering a number of record stores in Austin still selling CDs containing the dodgy software. Now New York District Attorney Eliot Spitzer, the man behind all those payola investigations, is also show an interest. Although he has yet to take action against anyone, he has issued a statement urging retailers to "heed the warnings issued about these products, pull them from distribution immediately, and ship them back to Sony".
Meanwhile, questions are being asked about how quickly SonyBMG bosses responded to the problems surrounding the rootkit software. The questions follow claims by Finnish security firm F-Secure that they first alerted the major to the problems with the anti-piracy software back in September. According to Business Week: "F-Secure did its own investigation and notified Sony DADC, which manufactures Sony BMG CDs, on 4 Oct". SonyBMG are downplaying the note, but F-Secure's claims could become more relevant if and when legal action against the major over the software comes to court.