More on the Sony XCP DRM (Rootkit)
Freedom-to-tinker.com has some good detailed analysis on Sony’s (mis) use of GPL software in their XCP DRM (Digital Rights Management) software that’s been at the center of somewhat of a firestorm the last couple months. DRMS was the source of the code that was allegedly misappropriated, but the puzzle was why a Digital Rights Management removal bit of software was used in Digital Rights Management software to begin with…
The answer is that XCP utilizes the DRMS code not to remove Apple DRM but to add it. I’ve discovered that XCP uses code from DRMS as part of a hidden XCP feature that provides iTunes and iPod compatibility. This functionality has shipped on nearly every XCP CD, but it has never been enabled or made visible in the XCP user interface. Despite being inactive, the code appears to be fully functional and was compatible with the current version of iTunes when the first XCP CDs were released. This strongly suggests that the infringing DRMS code was deliberately copied by XCP’s creator, First4Internet, rather than accidentally included as part of a more general purpose media library used for other functions in the copy protection system.
Technical details and more musings at the above link.