Security
SHARE
Facebook X Pinterest WhatsApp

Trojan Exploits Sony’s DRM Flaw

The release of a Trojan horse that exploits Sony’s controversial copy ‘cloaking’ tool is raising fears among users and music lovers around the globe. The Tro/Stinx-E Trojan horse is being spammed out, attempting to take advantage of a flaw in Sony’s Digital Rights Management (DRM) tools. The DRM code is installed when a user plays […]

Written By
SG
Sharon Gaudin
Nov 11, 2005
Datamation content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More

The release of a Trojan horse that exploits Sony’s controversial copy

‘cloaking’ tool is raising fears among users and music lovers around the

globe.

The Tro/Stinx-E Trojan horse is being spammed out, attempting to take

advantage of a flaw in Sony’s Digital Rights Management (DRM) tools. The

DRM code is installed when a user plays one the music giant’s

copy-protected CDs in a computer. The tool hides itself on hard drives,

but it opens a backdoor on the computer, allowing malware to work its way

in.

The Stinx-E Trojan arrives as an attachment. If it is opened and run, the

Trojan copies itself onto a file called $sys$drv.exe, according to

analysts at Sophos, Inc., an anti-virus company with U.S. headquarters in

Lynnfield, Mass. Any file with $sys$ in its name is then automatically

hidden by Sony’s copy-protection code, making it invisible on computers

which have used CDs carrying Sony’s cloaking tool.

”I don’t think people at the moment are being infected,” says Graham

Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. ”The fear is what other

malware could be written to exploit the vulnerability. It’s not a problem

you get from opening a dodgy email. You get it from listening to a Celine

Dion CD or Ricky Martin.”

The subject line on the spammed email is: Photo Approval Deadline.

While the Trojan, which was first spotted in the wild on Thursday

morning, didn’t work well, others followed it that worked better.

Sony’s use of the DRM tools has caused an uproar, setting blogs and chat

rooms ablaze with criticism. ”There’s outrage amongst people because

there’s software going around on CDs that make them vulnerable to future

attacks,” Cluley told eSecurityPlanet. ”I think it is opening a

security vulnerability on people’s computers. It’s not a good way to

fight music piracy. We want to keep artists in business. We like to think

that people’s artistic work would be protected but not at the cost of

making people insecure. The way they did this was inept.”

Sophos ran a poll on its Website, asking if Sony’s use of DRM coding is a

fair way to fight music piracy or is it posing a threat to users. As of

late Friday morning, Cluley says 98 percent of respondents said it is a

security threat.

According to figures at Sophos, about 20 different CDs have been

outfitted with DRM coding. Two million of them have been shipped —

mainly to the United States.

”It’s very trivial for the virus writers and hackers to take advantage

of this vulnerability,” adds Cluley. ”I think people will be nervous.

And I think the artists are getting hit too, because people aren’t buying

their CDs — not because of the music, but because of the software.”

  SEE ALL
ARTICLES  
SG

Sharon Gaudin is a veteran technology journalist who has worked for the likes of Computerworld, InformationWeek, and Datamation. She has covered everything from the cloud, security, and social networking to software development, robotics, artificial intelligence, and hardware.

Recommended for you...

thumbnail AI in Cybersecurity: The Comprehensive Guide to Modern Security
Security
AI in Cybersecurity: The Comprehensive Guide to Modern Security
Liz Ticong
Apr 29, 2024
thumbnail What Is Cybersecurity? Definitions, Practices, Threats
Security
What Is Cybersecurity? Definitions, Practices, Threats
Liz Ticong
Apr 8, 2024
thumbnail How to Secure a Network: 9 Key Actions to Secure Your Data
Security
How to Secure a Network: 9 Key Actions to Secure Your Data
Liz Ticong
Mar 21, 2024
thumbnail 7 Best Data Security Software: Solutions For 2024
Security
7 Best Data Security Software: Solutions For 2024
Kezia Grace Jungco
Mar 20, 2024
Datamation Logo

Datamation is the leading industry resource for B2B data professionals and technology buyers. Datamation's focus is on providing insight into the latest trends and innovation in AI, data security, big data, and more, along with in-depth product recommendations and comparisons. More than 1.7M users gain insight and guidance from Datamation every year.

facebook
youtube
x

Company

About us Contact us Advertise with us

Categories

Trends Big Data Data Center AI Cloud Applications Mobile Open Source Security Storage

Property of TechnologyAdvice. © 2025 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

Terms of Service Privacy Policy California - Do Not Sell My Information