New York ponders Sony 'rootkit' suit

New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is reportedly looking into the prospect of legal action against record label Sony BMG Music Entertainment, as a result of that company's recent copy-protection fiasco.

For those keeping score at home, Sony distributed 4.7 million CDs that, when inserted into a computer's CD drive, installed so-called rootkit software aimed at limiting the number of copies of the CD that could be made. The software hid its presence thoroughly, while also opening up a dangerous set of security holes that could let virus writers take over PCs.

Sony stopped production of the CDs when this came to light, and later recalled all 4.7 million discs, offering an exchange program for the 2.1 million that had been sold. The company has already been sued by the state of Texas, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and a handful of lawyers seeking class action status.

According to BusinessWeek, Spitzer has had investigators pounding the pavement finding versions of the CDs that have not yet been taken off shelves. The state has not yet filed its own lawsuit, however.